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Pantalette Doll 

Copyright 1931, by Albert Whitman and Company 
Chicago, U. S. A. 



NOTE 

The doll, trun\ and dinner set described in this story are now in the Eudora Collec¬ 
tion in The Metropolitan Museum, where anyone who as\s may have access to it 

and see it. 




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Printed in the U. S. A. 


AUG 



14 1931 



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CONTENTS 

Page 


I. The Attic. 7 

II. The Other Little Girl. 22 

III. The Attic Play Corner. 36 

IV. The Treasure Trunk. 51 

V. Minerva Ida Sees Today. 69 

VI. Cornelia of Long Ago. 84 

VII. The Doll Bazaar. 97 

VIII. The Picnic.113 

IX. The Calamity.127 

X. Father's Treat.143 














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THE PANTALETTE DOLL 



THE ATTIC 

An old-fashioned attic we know is a splendid place for 
play, because it holds such a wealth of treasure in its car- 
pet-bags, its leather and hair trunks, and its old bandboxes. 
Its low green-shuttered windows under the eaves are 
exactly the right height to suggest that some corner be 
made into a playhouse for dolls. 

Apartment houses do not have attics. Neither do 
modern bungalows which would scorn anything so old- 
fashioned. But the very old house that belonged to little 
Mallory Deming’s great-grandfather had a real, old-fash¬ 
ioned attic. The story of what it held for a child of 
to-day makes this the story of a dear old attic and also 
the story of little Mallory. 

To begin with, Mallory did not live in Great-grand¬ 
father’s old home. She lived in a city apartment with 
Mother and Father. Only, at times of family gatherings 
such as Thanksgiving and Christmas, she and Mother and 
7 


8 


THE PAHTALETTE DOLL ..... 

Father would sometimes take the train and go to Narra- 
walke which lies on the shores of Long Island Sound some' 
where in Connecticut. 

There, long ago, long before there was any railroad, 
Great-grandfather had chosen to build alone upon a beauti¬ 
ful hillside a home so perfect in its setting of old-fashioned 
garden, terraced upon the green hillside with a background 
of rugged Connecticut granite at the hill's summit, that 
Mallory even as a very tiny little girl felt very proud of 
belonging to it. 

It was always a treat to go there on a visit, to play in the 
old-fashioned fountain with its pink-tinted shells, to sit in 
the old summerhouses and look off over the garden's spa¬ 
cious loveliness; to play hide and seek around the great 
box-bush Great-grandfather had planted; to climb about 
the long old grape arbor and pick grapes that were great 
purple clusters, and to find armfuls of apples under the 
orchard trees back of the house. 

But perhaps it was the old, old attic that had the strong¬ 
est call. 

Its door opened upon a short flight of back stairs and 
two inviting steps drew aside there at the top to stop be¬ 
fore an old door. Upon the door was a latch that one had 
to lift. There was no door knob. 

When Mallory slept in the room next to the attic stairs, ' 
she often wished that she might go up there and play. 


THE ATTIC 


9 


Yet though she had been up there many times with Aunt 
Esther who lived in Great-grandfather's house, she never 
was allowed to go there to stay. The visits were so full 
of many happy things to do that the attic door remained 
closed fast to little girls' play. 

Once, when she had been very tiny—perhaps about four 
or five—Mallory remembered being taken up the steep 
stairs that rose behind the latched door. At the top was 
a small shuttered window and Aunt Esther had led Mal¬ 
lory toward it very cautiously to peep between the shutters 
and see the marvel of a robin's nest, built close by upon a 
cornice. 

Mallory had never forgotten the robin's nest. Though 
that robin and its brood flew away, yet there were new 
robins that came to build homes there in other spring¬ 
times. Somehow the robin's nest seemed a symbol of the 
life of the old house where many children had grown up 
and flown away upon the wings of the years. 

Somewhere in the attic, so Aunt Esther said, there were 
trunks full of Great-grandmother's dresses, not at all like 
the dresses of to-day. Some time, Aunt Esther promised, 
when there was plenty of time and nothing else to do, she 
would take Mallory up to the attic and show her these. 
She believed, too, that there were even some toys that had 
belonged to Grandmother and Great-grandmother. 

Always, Mallory had looked forward to the time when 


10 


THE PA XT ALETTE DOLL 


she and Aunt Esther would go up to the attic together 
and see these wonderful things. But the time never came 
and the old attic remained full of its secrets and its trea¬ 
sures, uninvestigated, though it held its promise that Aunt 
Esther had made. 

Then Aunt Esther went away and for a long time the 
very old house was closed so that nobody went there ex¬ 
cept, once in a while, Father. George, who had been the 
coachman before Aunt Esther had had a car, lived there 
as caretaker. It was not till Mallory was about nine that 
suddenly and most unexpectedly it was decided that she 
and Mother and Father should go to make their home in 
the very old house. At once Mallory had said, “Oh, the 
attic! Then I shall play in the attic!" 

“Yes," Mother answered, “exactly as I used to do myself 
when I was little. I think there are some very interesting 
old toys up there. We will hunt for them and see what 
they are like. It seems to me that I remember a dear funny 
old doll but I don’t remember whether it belonged there 
or whether it belonged in my little friend’s attic." 

“Oh, I hope it is there!" laughed Mallory. “I would 
love to have an old-fashioned doll! I never saw one! I 
always thought your doll was very old, Mother! But think 
of Grandmother’s doll or one that belonged to Great¬ 
grandmother!" 

“You will want to leave all your old toys behind, Mab 


THE ATTIC 


11 


lory,” teased Father. "You won't want them any more!” 

But Mallory took the suggestion seriously. 

"Well,” she considered, thoughtfully, "I might leave 
some of them that I have outgrown and don't play with. 
There's the doll house—I'd like to take that; and there's 
the big doll baby that says 'Ma-ma-a' and that, too, I would 
like to take. I'll go over my toys and pick out those I 
want to keep.” 

"You can give away the old ones you don't want.” 

"Yes,” returned Mallory. "Some of the children I know 
will like them. The nicest ones we can take up to the 
hospital as we did last Christmas. When are we going 
to move?” 

"The first of May,” said Mother. "That is, it looks so 
now. That will be in two weeks.” 

"And what's going to become of the things that are 
here?” 

"They will be sold!” said Father. "All but some things 
we shall want to keep, like the books and some of the 
pictures.” 

"My things in my room?” 

"Yes, indeed! You'll have to sleep in a four-poster bed, 
Mallory, just like a little old-fashioned girl! 

"Oh!” laughed Mallory, "is it the same bed I used to 
have when I went to visit Aunt Esther? 

"The very same! With a patchwork quilt over it, no 


12 THE PAHT ALETTE DOLL 

doubt the same one that Grandmother used to tuck over 
me when I was small," Mother answered. 

Til have the back room next to the attic door, then," 
Mallory added eagerly. “Thats where the four-poster 
bed is. Mornings I'll wake up and see the birds in the 
appletree just outside the window. I just love that room. 
It's right next door to the attic. I shall have a play 
place in the attic. I shall go there first thing!" 

“Yes, yes," assented Mother. Mallory quietly left the 
room to think over the coming change. 

She went to her own small cubby-hole of a bedroom 
that she had had ever since she was a baby. She sat 
down on her bright-patterned window seat beside the 
doll house, chin in hand, elbow on window ledge, gazing 
vacantly off to the brick wall of the apartment opposite. 
She did not see the wall. She was merely considering 
matters. 

“It's queer the way things are," she said to herself. 
“Great-grandfather's very old house seems more home 
than here. Maybe it's because apartments are so like 
each other. But there's only once in a while a place like 
Great-grandfather's house that has been a home so long 
and for so many people that everybody feels it. Perhaps 
that's why I feel it, too. The apartment won't miss us 
but I expect the old house is glad we're coming. I shall 
go right up to the attic, first thing—soon's I get there." 


THE ATTIC 


13 


Whereupon she fell to considering what toys to give 
away and what ones to take. The strange thing about 
the choice was that she chose entirely with a view to the 
playhouse she was to have up in Great-grandfather’s old- 
fashioned attic. 

She would take the big doll’s toy furniture, of course. 
It would be splendid to put that right in the corner where 
the window facing the front garden let in the full sun¬ 
light on the wide floor. There were no blinds closed 
there. It was away under the eaves that were supported 
by heavy Y-beams and long oaken pins and it was close 
to the place where a strange hoopskirt of long ago hung 
on a hand-wrought nail. Aunt Esther had once shown it 
to Mallory and remarked upon the nail. She had even 
made Mallory run her fingers over it to feel how rough 
and strong it was. 

The window there looked over the garden where the 
fountain sparkled; over the tree-tops to the summer-house 
standing at the head of a long flight of stone steps going 
down the hill at the front, with a privet hedge at each 
side of the railing. This met the drive halfway down the 
hill. On the other side of the drive, it joined a tar walk 
that ran sedately by its side under elms and chestnut trees 
to the entrance gate at the foot of the hill. 

There at the foot of the hill lay the strange old rambling 
frame buildings of the town. When Great-grandfather 


14 


THE PANT ALETTE DOLL 



Grandfather built a big house on the hill 


had built the house, it had been far out of the town. But 
the town had grown and now it surrounded the hill on 
which the house stood. 

Far over the tree-tops that one saw from the small 
square attic window was the distant vista of Long Island 
Sound, blue or gray as the day happened to be. Some- 
times even, white sails like gulls could be seen. The water 
made Mallory think of the beach. No doubt there would 
be picnics. 

There surely would be other children to play with. 
Mallory had always wanted a little girl for a friend. 
Somehow, she had never found the right one in the city. 
Some of them did not even like to play with dolls, while 
Mallory loved to play with them and dress them. 

She began to wonder what she might find in those old 
trunks in the attic which she and the new little friend 
would open and investigate. Of course, there would be 




THE ATTIC 


15 



Mallory helps pac\ 


that little friend—there would have to be. A little girl 
with whom to play in the attic! 

“We will make houses up in that corner, 1 ’ thought 
Mallory, “and we will dress up in the things we find in 
the trunks. Oh, I can hardly wait for the first of May 
to come! 11 

Once started, the days that brought the great day 
nearer fairly flew. Father’s books were packed into 
wooden boxes, Mallory helping to wrap each precious 
volume in paper while he fitted each parcel into its place. 

Then Mother had no end of things with which she, 
too, needed help and Mallory’s clothes were sorted and 
packed, except those that were immediately needed. The 
toys were also packed and given away. By and by some 


16 


THE PAMT ALETTE DOLL 


of the furniture that had been sold to friends was re- 
moved. The rest was to belong to the new family who 
were coming to live in the same apartment. 

Next, the dining-room things took flight and there came 
a morning that was deliciously like a picnic. Mother had 
to make coffee in a saucepan for she had nothing else and 
Father drank his coffee sitting on a packingbox with no 
saucer for his cup. Nobody had napkins. There was 
only a spoon with which to butter the morning rolls. But 
nobody cared about this and everybody was happy. 

That day was long. The van and the men were late. 
When they finally came, Mallory skipped about very 
much in the way, trying to see everything that was going 
on, being told please to step aside quickly, dodging here 
and there and peering down into the street from an open 
window to see things go into the van below. 

Late in the afternoon while she was still running aim¬ 
lessly about Mallory decided that after living so long in 
one place, it was too bad to feel glad to leave her home. 
She originated a play in which she went to all the familiar 
bits of furniture and patted them and said, "Good-bye, 
Table!” or "Good-bye, Bed! Good-bye, Bedroom.” The 
apartment ought to be treated politely, even if she were 
leaving it, she thought. She went from room to room till 
she suddenly heard Father's voice: "Mallory, Mallory! 
Get your things on! Taxi's here!” 


THE ATTIC 


17 


Into her soft brown coat she wriggled and pushed her 
small hat down over her curls. 

c Tm coming," she called and ran to the hall where 
Father was holding open the door and the elevator was 
waiting. It was but a twinkle after that to the Grand 
Central Station. Even then it was hard to realise that 
they were truly on the way to Narrawalke! 

No sooner were they seated than the train drew out. 
Through the tunnel and the long gray masonry of the 
cut, went the train, faster and faster. It seemed in some 
strange way to read Mallory's thoughts for as it sped past 
woods and meadows, past towns and houses, it said over 
and over again: "To-Great-grandfather's-house-with-its- 
attic! To-Great-grandfather's-house-with-its-attic! To- 
Great-grandfather Vhouse-with-its-attic!" 

When Mallory tried to make the train's voice say some¬ 
thing different, it only turned into: "The attic! The attic! 
The attic! The attic!" 

At last, because of the excitement of the day and the 
monotonous voice of the train, she fell fast asleep when 
it was too dark to look out of the window any more. 
With her head pillowed on Mother's arm, she gave in to 
drowsiness. 

It was Father, standing in the aisle, who wakened her. 
She blinked and rubbed her eyes. "Why, I was dream¬ 
ing," she murmured, half awake. "I—I was, I was play- 


18 


THE PA^T ALETTE DOLL 


ing in the attic at Great-grandfather’s house. And there 
was another little girl there too; I don’t know who she 
was. And we had a doll. I don’t know what doll-” 

"Sleepyhead,” laughed Father. 

"Here, put your hand into the sleeve of your coat, 
dear,” urged Mother. "Tell me the dream some other 
time. Now we must hurry.” 

"Train’s getting in on time,” explained Father and 
fastened the coat she was too sleepy to button herself. 

Then the train came to an abrupt stop with such a jerk 
that the people who were standing in the aisle teetered 
like a row of dominoes about to fall over. The conductor 
was calling, "Narrawalke! Narrawalke!” Somehow, it 
really felt like coming Home! 

The conductor helped Mother and Mallory down the 
high step of the train. Then there was a bustle and in 
the crowd Father saying: 

"Here! Here’s the car. How-do, George! Everything 
right up at the old place?” 

Then George was saying, just as he used to do when 
Mallory was a baby: "How-do, Miss!” Soon they were 
driving through the streets of the little old town where 
the shops were so unlike city shops and where all was 
very dark. 

Then, with a sharp turn, they came in full view of the 
very old house gleaming white in the moonlight upon its 


THE ATTIC 


19 



“Hello! hello, nice house" 


dark setting of hillside, its windows sending out wide 
welcoming shafts of light to those who were coming to 
live in it. 

Into the drive the car turned and Mallory felt George 
change the gears as they went up the steep hill. Soon the 
car came to a stop beside the old carriage-block. George 
opened the door of the car and Mallory jumped out. 

She stood looking up at the great Doric pillars while 
Father and Mother were getting out with bags and George 
was helping with luggage. Then she quietly pattered to 
the side of a big white column and placed her little gloved 
hand upon it. Just as she had talked to the apartment, 
so she whispered: “Hello! Hello, nice house.” Nobody 
heard it. She felt rather self-conscious but it seemed the 
natural thing to do to return the new home’s welcome. 

She did not go right in with the others. She ran all 




20 


THE P AMT ALETTE DOLL 


around the house where shadows lay deep. Then, open- 
ing a side door, unnoticed, she ran up the back-stairs while 
Mother and Father were in their rooms taking off travel¬ 
ing things and disposing of bags. 

It was at bed time that Mallory confided to Mother 
what she had done upon her arrival. “You know, 
Mother , 11 she said, softly snuggled in the big four-poster 
bed with the gay quilt over her and the light turned low, 
“what I did when you and Father were taking off your 
coats in your rooms ? 11 

“No, dear , 11 half-questioned Mother. 

“Well, Mother, I just couldn't wait to see the actic , 11 
Mallory confessed. “It seemed as if I just had to find out 
right off whether there was a robin's nest in the old place 
again this spring, so I opened the attic door and I went 
right up the stairs in the dark!" 

“And you saw the robin with his head under his wing?" 

“No, I didn't," confessed Mallory with a little low 
laugh, “it was too dark in the shadow under the eaves to 
see. But I looked out and I saw a star in the branches of 
an elm and I heard the fountain’s voice down in the gar¬ 
den. I suppose little children long ago looked at the very 
same stars, didn't they?" 

For answer, Mother squeezed Mallory's little hand 
quite tight. 

“And what else did you see?" she questioned. 


THE ATTIC 


21 


“Oh, just shadows of old things, 1 ’ said Mallory softly, 
“and the corner where I am going to have a playhouse. 
I shall go up there to-morrow to play . 11 

“Yes, dearest , 11 returned Mother, giving Mallory her 
good-night kiss, “and I hope you will have a splendid 
playtime. I am very happy that Great-grandfather’s attic 
is going to give its treasures to my own little girl.” 

“Do you suppose there will be another little girl to 
play with?” 

“I hope so. But go to sleep now, dear! We won’t talk 
any more now,” said Mallory’s mother as she went softly 
from the darkened room where the moonlight fell in 
patches upon the floor. In the velvety duskiness of the 
dark outside the window, Mallory could see the apple- 
tree’s branches and then she fell fast asleep. 





y.-‘ ^ 

e** \©* 

r X>00OOC*X$0« 

X CHAPTER I. X 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxx 



THE OTHER LITTLE GIRL 

In the morning when Mallory woke, the sun was shin-' 
ing right into the pink blossoms of the apple-tree and a 
spring robin was singing somewhere hidden in the 
branches. It was going to be a perfect day, far too perfect 
to miss a moment by lying abed till it was time to dress. 

Mallory threw aside the patchwork quilt and began to 
dress, careful not to waken Mother in the next room. 
Mother had said she was tired out and had suggested a 
late breakfast. It was not yet seven and breakfast was 
at half-past eight. 

Mallory slipped into her scarlet dressing-gown and was 
soon splashing about as if she were a canary in its bath¬ 
tub. The bath was part of the delicious freshness of the 
morning. She would have liked to shout and sing but 
there was the danger of waking others. So she towelled 
off with the vim that might otherwise have gone into song. 
Afterwards, it was but a minute to brush hair to a slick¬ 
ing and slip into clothes. There was the red gingham and 


THE OTHER LITTLE GIRL 


23 


the scarlet sweater. Mother had put them out last night. 
Just a second—and then to open the bed as she had been 
taught, throwing open wide the chamber window to let 
in fresh morning air! 

Oh, how lovely everything was! How different from 
living in the city! Mallory put her head out of the win' 
dow and sniffed the scent of pink blossoms, fragrant and 
delicious. She looked off toward the hill at the back of 
the house where the rocks were—rocks and meadow with 
stone walls and a tree or two. From the rocks up there, 
one could look far off over Long Island Sound and even 
see Long Island upon a clear day. 

The rocks were such a fine place to play for they lay 
in terraces irregular in outline, rising one above the other 
and suggesting the mapping^out of rooms if one wanted 
to play house. Aunt Esther and Mother had played house 
there ever so many years ago. Perhaps even before that, 
children had played there in the same way. 

Mallory watched a bluebird alight upon a bit of stone 
gardemwall and wondered what she should do with the 
precious time before breakfast. All outdoors was calling, 
but there was the attic. 

“I will do both, 1 ’ said Mallory to herself. "First, IT1 
take a peep in the attic and see what’s there; then IT1 go 
outdoors. Fll look around and see if I can find any other 
children to play with.” 


24 


THE P AMT ALETTE DOLL 

She shut the chamber door carefully and lifted the latch 
of the attic door that was next to her own door opening 
on the small back hall landing. It was a big white door 
and opened directly upon the attic stair on which there 
was faded red and yellow ingrain carpet of queer old' 
fashioned pattern, big red and yellow cabbage roses. The 
stair was steep. Its steps went straight up without stain 
rail. 

But at the top there was a railing, just a short one to 
fence off the flooring for safety's sake. At the top of the 
stair was the window she had always called “The Robin's 
Window" because of the nests that had been there. 
Softly she climbed the stair and peeped through the open 
green shutters to see if, indeed, the robins had built there. 

There indeed was a nest! In it were four gaping little 
robin throats waiting to be filled. The air was full of the 
hungry squawk of the open beaks waiting to be filled, 
wide yellow beaks. The little birds were so funny! They 
had queer quilldike feathers and just a suggestion of down. 

Suddenly came Mother Robin with a fat bug to go 
down the first throat that offered. Mallory had to keep 
very quiet indeed lest Mother Robin see her and fly away. 
She held her breath till the four had each been satisfied. 
Then Mother Robin flew off again and there was quiet 
in the nest. For a long time Mallory watched the robins,~ 
then she turned about to find what else there might be 
to see. 


THE OTHER LITTLE GIRL 


25 


The attic was filled with many old things, quantities of 
old furniture, funny old what-nots, cane-seated chairs 
with straight backs, queer old beds, queer marble-topped 
stands, an old spinning-wheel half covered with a bit of 
sheeting. What a lot of strange old trunks, boxes, band- 
boxes and odd things! Whatever could be in them all? 
They were piled one on the other. It would take lots of 
time to go through them,—and how dusty everything was! 

Over in a dim corner she spied the outline of a little 
model schooner under a glass case. It seemed quite com¬ 
plete, even to its ropes and wheel. But it was old—very 
old—and quite, quite deep with attic dust. She managed 
to pull the case out toward the window to look at it bet¬ 
ter; the boat couldn't be sailed in the fountain as she had 
hoped. It was really almost coming to pieces. 

She edged the case nearer into the light of the window 
where the blind was open and caught a glimpse of the 
rocks and the hillside—why! There was a little girl up 
there. She was just about Mallory's own age. She looked 
for a moment toward the house then turned and went 
away, and was soon lost to sight beyond the orchard trees 
upon the slope of the hill. 

Mallory forgot about the treasures that the attic might 
hold. She forgot about the trunks, the boxes, the model 
ship in its case, the robin's nest, and even the spot near 
the window where she had planned to have the play- 


26 


THE PAMT ALETTE DOLL 


house. She jumped to her feet and ran down the attic 
stairs as fast as her two feet could scamper. She was 
down the backstairs in a twinkling and around through 
the dining-room to the hall where the side door opened 
on the garden. 

In a flash of scarlet, she was on the tar garden-walk, 
making for the orchard upon the hill at the back of the 
house. It lay on its slope of hillside pink with the glory 
of full-laden bloom. Mallory, regardless of hat, raced up 
the hill. 

'Til catch her, 11 she panted. 'Til catch her. Oh, I 
think she looked ever so nice. I know she will like to 
play the things I do. I wonder why she was looking 
down at the house? I wonder if she was looking for me? 
Was she expecting me? How funny she should be there 
anyway! 11 

But there was no glimpse of the other little girl's brown 
dress and blue cap as Mallory came to the gate at the top 
of the hill and stood looking to right and left. On the 
other side of the gate stretched a long meadow-like plateau 
broken only by stray flat rocks. 

To the right were the terraced rocks, to the left a wide 
meadow opened out. There were rocks too and a steep 
ledge known as The Precipice. Below it there was actu¬ 
ally a little cave. 

‘Til go there and see if she's there," decided Mallory, 


THE OTHER LITTLE GIRL 


27 



Mallory and Jane become friends 


loping over the soft, springy meadow. “I wonder whether 
she’s there or whether she’s gone home. Wonder if I ever 
will know her. Wonder why she came here. Wonder 
what her name is.” 

But, turning into the larger meadow she gasped, for 
there was the other little girl. 

“Hello!” cried Mallory, coming toward her at full speed. 
“I saw you from the attic window and I ran right up 
here to find out about you!” 

“Well, I came up here to see you/” the other little girl 
replied, quite as if it were a matter of course. “But I 
didn’t think you’d be up quite so early. I knew you’d be 
here this morning. You came last night. I’ve been wait' 
ing for you.” 

“Waiting for me?” 


28 


THE PAHTALETTE DOLL 


“Umdium!” she nodded, laughing. “I know all about 
you."’ 

Mallory stared. Then she too began to laugh at the 
gay surprise of it all. 

“Well!” she exclaimed. “What do you know about me 
and what's your name? You'd better tell me about your- 
self too. I was just hoping there'd be somebody to play 
with and I looked out of the window and I saw you/” 

“You're Mallory Deming,” explained the little girl in 
brown, taking off her blue cap to let the fresh spring 
breeze blow through her bobbed hair. “I think I am 
going to like you. I liked you when I heard about your 
coming. So I kept waiting till you should arrive and I 
came up here to see if I could catch a glimpse of you. 
I always get up early and I often play here on the rocks. 
It's quite near our house.” 

She pointed to a long low white house whose roof could 
be seen at the edge of the meadows where a road passed. 

“That's it—the long white house. It’s a very old 
house,” she explained. “We've always lived there. I'm 
Jane, Jane Taylor. I haven't any brothers or sisters. I live 
all alone with my mother.” 

“Oh,” said Mallory. It must be then that Jane's father 
was not living. She felt sorry. “What did you hear about 
me?” she asked, sitting down upon the rock beside Jane. 
“Was it nice?” 


THE OTHER LITTLE GIRL 29 

"If it hadn’t been nice, do you suppose I’d be here?” 
returned Jane, giving Mallory a delicious poke with her 
forefinger. "Silly! Of course it was nice. My mother 
knows your mother. She used to play with her when she 
was little. But that was long ago. Perhaps your mother 
has forgotten all about her. It’s long since Mother saw 
your mother but she hasn’t forgotten. They played house 
right here where you and I are!” 

"Did they?” 

"And she says they used to have lots of fun too.” 

"Think of it!” 

"And Mother knew all about you when you were a 
baby—same time I was. You hear about people in a little 
town,” explained Jane, wisely. "Mother heard. When 
I was little we’d walk over here just for fun afternoons 
to sit on the rocks maybe. Mother would tell me stories 
about how she had played here with another little girl 
who had grown up and gone away to the city to live. She 
said she had a little girl of her own now and she hoped 
some day, maybe—she hoped you and your mother might 
come back to live at the old place. And you did,” she 
ended, triumphantly. "So you see I’ve really known you 
a very long time.” 

"Just think of it,” smiled Mallory. "Seems as if we 
were just born to play together!” 

Jane laughed and nodded. 


30 


THE PA KTALETTE DOLL 


“What do you like best to play?" she inquired anxiously. 
“I like to play—but I won't tell you till you tell me first." 

Yet Mallory hesitated. Just supposing she were to hit 
the wrong sort of play with this splendid new friend who 
had known her always. “I'm scared to say," she hesh 
tated. “Maybe you wouldn't like it, and then-" 

“Oh, but I might like it, too." 

“Well," said Mallory, “I'll tell you. It’s something lots 
of girls don't care about." 

“Is it?" 

“Well," repeated Mallory, “I'll tell you. It’s—I just 
adore dolls!" 

Jane bounded to her feet. “Really?" she exclaimed de- 
lightedly. “That's just what I adore most myself. I love 
to make believe with them and dress them. I love to play 
house!" 

“Oh, oh!" exclaimed Mallory. “All the time when we 
we were packing to come up here—down in that stuffy city 
I was hoping there'd be somebody here who'd like to play 
dolls with me. And do you know what?" 

“W hair 

“Well-" 

“Well?" 

“It was just before I saw you that I was up in the attic. 
I went up there to see a corner where I wanted to make 
a playhouse for my dolls when they come. So I woke up 


THE OTHER LITTLE GIRL 


31 


early and I went up there and poked about to see what 
was what,—and then— 11 She laughed. “I saw you, 11 
she said. “So I forgot all about the playhouse and I dashed 
right up through the orchard to look and see if I could 
play with you. 11 

“How funny, 11 echoed Jane. “Both of us not really 
knowing each other but looking for each other. We just 
ought to be splendid friends. 11 

“I should think so! 11 

“Tell me about your dolls. 11 

“Well, I gave away the rag ones that I had when I was 
very little. Mother and I sent them to the hospital. When 
we packed up, we did not see much use in keeping 
them. But my baby doll that says 'Mama 1 I brought with 
me. Her name is Tootsie. And I brought Jack, my boy 
doll, and Marigold. 11 

“Marigold? 11 

“Yes, Marigold is an English doll. She's very pretty 
and not very big; just fun to dress. She has golden hair. 
Mother says she looks like a little English girl— exactly!” 

“She must be pretty. I suppose you'll laugh when I 
tell you about my doll." 

“Why?" 

“I only have one," said Jane. “But she seems so really 
alive. Sometimes I do feel she really is alive! Her name 
is Edith, Baby Edith. She was Mother’s doll. But she’s 


32 


THE P AMT ALETTE DOLL 


the nicest ever and she can talk too. You pull a cord with 
a blue bead and she says Tapa 1 and one with a white 
bead says 'Mama.’ I have a whole doll set of table, bed, 
chairs and they are all hers. I sew dresses for her. She 
is my only big doll and I love her. You will too. I’ll put 
her in her carriage and wheel her over next time I come 
here . 11 She put on the blue cap. “It must be breakfast 
time , 11 she said. “I must go back now, and I'm so glad I 
know you. I shall tell Mother all about you ! 11 

“Oh don't go yet . 11 

“I'll come back . 11 

“When ? 11 

“The first chance I get . 11 

“How'll I know you are here ? 11 

“I could come down to the house . 11 

“Of course ! 11 

“But, if it were some time very early in the morning, 
Fd wait up here . 11 

“And Fd look out of the window and see you, and then 
Fd dash up too ! 11 

They were entranced. 

“You bring your doll and I’ll see if I can bring mine, 
after breakfast, maybe. And we'll play house up here or 
go up into the attic. You must see the attic! We can 
dress up in the funny dresses that are in the trunks and 
play house in the corner by the window that looks off 
over the lawn . 11 


THE OTHER LITTLE GIRL 


33 


“I'd love to.” 

“Which would be most fun—the outdoor house or the 
attic?” 

“I don't know. Which do you think?” 

Mallory hesitated. “Well,” she said, “I'd say the attic! 
I never have played in an attic! I know I'd just love it! 
One can play outdoors every single day.” 

“Yes, I think the attic is most fun, too. We can dress 
up.” 

“And you'll come over after breakfast?” 

“As soon as I can. I help Mother with the dishes and 
I help clean up too. There might be some errands to do.” 

“Well, come as soon as ever you can,” agreed Mallory. 
“Oh, dear. Mother is calling me. It must be my break- 
fast time too.” 

The two parted. Jane went over the stone fence into 
the green meadow beyond. She turned to wave a hand 
and called, “I'll be over soon.” 

Mallory waved her answer. Then she sped down the 
hill of the orchard and rushed into the dining-room where 
Mother was sitting at one end of the table and Father was 
hidden behind the folds of his morning Times. 

“Mother, Mother!” she cried, flinging herself with a 
bear-hug upon her mother. “You know the most exciting 
thing has happened. I've met Jane Taylor; and she says 
you used to play with her mother up on the rocks when 
you were a little girl!” 


34 


THE PAHTALETTE DOLL 


“Why, so I did!” exclaimed Mother. “I haven’t for¬ 
gotten in the least. I have seen little Jane Taylor’s mother 
only once since you and Jane were just little babies, I 
think. Somehow, we never met much after we grew up. 
But we will have to begin again, thanks to you and Jane 
and our having moved here to stay,” she laughed. “I shall 
enjoy it as much as you, Mallory,” she said. “Oh, don’t 
be so boisterous, dear; go and kiss Father. You’re leaving 
him out.” 

Whereupon, Mallory gave him the regular bear-hug 
squeeze that was her morning kiss. 

“You know, Father,” she said, “this is the nicest house 
that ever was. With you and Mother, and the attic, and 
—and everything—I’m just going to be too happy for 
words!” 

“Well, eat your breakfast quickly,” he urged. “It’s get¬ 
ting cold. It’s a good breakfast too!” 

“I have to eat very fast,” declared Mallory. “Jane is 
coming over.” 

She fell to buttering her toast. “I want to look up my 
box of toys before she comes,” she explained. “I wonder 
where it was put, Mother?” 

“It must be with the other boxes out in the barn,” said 
Mother. “You’ll find it. George will open it for you, if 
you ask him.” 

“Well, we’re going to play in the attic, Mother,” she 


THE OTHER LITTLE GIRL 


35 


went on. u We're going to have a playhouse there, and 
dress up in the things that are in those funny old trunks." 

"I don't think you'd better rummage, Mallory," her 
mother suggested. “There are some very valuable old 
things in those trunks." 

“Oh, we won't hurt anything," Mallory declared. 
“We'll be careful." 

“Put everything carefully back just as you find it, dear." 

“Oh, of course, Mother!" 

Mallory fell silent, planning. First of all there was the 
toy box to find. By the time it was opened no doubt 
Jane would be over. 







KxxVxvxx 


| *«©* CHAPTER EL. *€#* | 

^XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX I 


THE ATTIC PLAY CORNER 

George was in the carriage-house that had been made 
over into a garage. He was working on the car. 

“Good morning, Miss, 1 ’ he said, as Mallory came bound- 
ing through the door. 

“Good morning," returned Mallory. “Do you know 
where my toy-box is? Mother said it was out in the barn 
and that you'd open it for me. I'm very anxious to open 
it. I'm going to start a playhouse up in the attic. Will 
you get it for me? Or are you too awfully busy just 
now?" She hoped he was not. 

“No, Miss," declared George. “I’ll come. All the 
boxes are in the big barn. Is the box marked?" 

“Yes," said Mallory. “It’s marked Toys Handle Care¬ 
fully, Breakable.'" 

“Then we can find it. There're no end of boxes there." 

The two left the carriage-house and went over to the 
big barn where they poked about hunting. But something 
must have happened to the toy-box for most certainly it 
was not there. 

“You know, Miss," George explained, “like as not, it 
36 



/ 














THE ATTIC PLAY CORNER 


37 


may have been left behind somehow, or they might just 
have been careless when they unloaded and left it in the 
van covered with packing^covers. 

"But it ought to be here, 1 ' Mallory insisted. "You're 
quite sure it wasn't put anywhere else?" 

George shook his head. "Everything’s right here, 
Miss," he said. "They didn't put any boxes elsewhere. 
The furniture there was sent right into the house." 

"Well, it isn't here. Maybe you'd better telephone 
down and ask. Oh, but they're in the city aren't they? 
I'll have Father do it. They ought to find the box right 
off and bring it up special delivery." 

"So they should," agreed George. "I'm sorry, Miss. 
If that's all I'll be going back to the car." 

"Yes," sighed Mallory. "If we can't find it, there won't 
be anything to open. It's too bad. It had the doll house 
in it in one big wooden box and the dolls and toy furnb 
ture were packed in another. Both were put into the 
wooden box and I saw the men pack them. It was done 
carefully. I don't see why they had to get lost." 

"Nor I either, Miss," he said. 

He went back to his car while Mallory stood there in 
the big barn still hopelessly peering around at the big 
crates. There were all Father's book'boxes, there were the 
boxes and barrels of Mother's china; and there were her 
own books and her own crated bookshelf. 


38 


THE PAHTALETTE DOLL 


But the toy box simply was not to be found. Well, it 
might have been left on the sidewalk by the movers. "I 
shall just ask Father to let me get new ones, if they’re 
lost,” mused Mallory. “No use to poke around here any 
more,” and she slid through the crack of door George had 
left open and emerged into the full sunlight of outdoors. 

There was Jane just coming down the path through the 
orchard wheeling a doll carriage. Mallory raced up the 
hill toward her. 

“Oh,” she cried. “It’s too provoking. My box of toys 
has gone astray somehow in moving. We can’t find it 
anywhere. Oh, is this your doll? Isn’t she pretty!” 

“Too bad,” murmured Jane. “Never mind. We can 
play without them for a while. I dare say your father 
will find out about it and you’ll get the box some time. 
Where shall we play?” 

“We can go and plan the playhouse in the attic. Shall 
we?” 

They agreed. Mallory examined Baby Edith and ex- 
claimed upon her little white baby-cap. She pulled the 
blue bead to hear her say “Papa” and the white bead at the 
end of the other string to make her say “Mama.” When 
she had again tucked her under the carriage robe of soft 
blue blanketing, they went slowly down the hill over the 
orchard path under the apple and pear trees where robins, 
bluebirds, catbirds and orioles were also thinking of 
making houses for themselves. 


THE ATTIC PLAT CORNER 


39 



fane was coming with her doll carriage 


But as the two came out upon the lawn, they were met 
by Mother. She was going out in the car. 

"Don't you want to come along too?" she asked. "It'll 
be a fine ride. I'm going away out to the Chestnut Hill 
Greenhouses to see about the garden." 

Jane looked at Mallory. Mallory looked at Jane. 

"We can come back and play house after," Jane sug- 
gested. “I don’t often have rides. It would be rather 
fun, and we can take the doll." 

She lifted Baby Edith from the carriage. Mallory ran 
into the house for wraps. They were soon in the big 
comfortable car swinging out of the driveway and down 
the elimbordered avenue toward the open country of hills 
and woods, meadows and streams. All was abloom with 
spring freshness and orchards flowering everywhere. 



40 


THE PA^T ALETTE DOLL 

When they came back, they stopped at Jane’s home to 
make a little call and left her there. The morning had all 
gone and the playhouse in the attic had not even been 
planned yet. There was no chance to play with Jane that 
afternoon because she had to go to town with her 
mother to buy a pair of new shoes and select a spring 
coat. 

Alone again, Mallory went to the attic to see just 
what furniture might be adapted to use for play-house- 
keeping. There were some broken chairs, a table, an old 
wooden cradle. She wedged them out of their corners 
and worked hard clearing a large space about the window 
that looked off over the lawn. 

It grew quite warm in the attic by four o’clock. She 
sat down upon an old trunk to examine her work. It was 
fairly good; maybe it was just as well not to have had that 
toy furniture after all. 

The chairs and table made quite a room in that corner. 
The low slope of the attic roof with its heavy beams came 
down to the top of the little window and suggested some 
co2,y little house corner. Mallory found an old red cur¬ 
tain and hung it upon nailheads so as to form a partition. 

She was quite satisfied with the afternoon’s work. If 
Jane had been there, they could have moved more things 
and made a bigger space. When Jane did come, they 
would do it. They would make another room, maybe. 


THE ATTIC PLAT CORNER 41 

She looked at herself to find her clean red dress was all 
dusty and her hands were fairly black. 

“Goodness, 1 ’ she sighed. “I ought to have put on an 
apron, 11 and her eyes roved about among the old attic 
trunks, and boxes, and chairs and nobody-knows-what, 
searching for other things that might be put into the cor¬ 
ner of the play-house by the window. She tried to open 
some of the old trunks to see what was in them. The 
table needed a table cover and the cradle needed some¬ 
thing for mattress and spread. But the trunks were held 
fast by their locks. There was no use trying to open them. 

She decided to wait till Jane came and go on with the 
play housekeeping then. So with a backward glance at 
her work and a long inspection of the young robins who 
seemed to have grown larger and stronger even in a day, 
she ran singing below to her room to change to clean 
things and wash off attic dustiness. Mother was out in 
the garden with Peter, the gardener. They were talking 
things over and going about from place to place where 
daffodils, tulips, crocuses already made the borders gay. 

Mallory followed after them and was allotted a bit of 
garden space where she might herself plant seed under 
Peter’s supervision and have a garden of her own to care 
for. It was to be quite an intricate one—a round 
flower-bed in the centre and a path about this. At the 
end of the gravel path there was to be a trellis with a seat 


42 


THE PAHT ALETTE DOLL 



The old trun\ in the attic 


under it. It was all lots of fun as Mallory had never be- 
fore had a garden of her own. 

When Mother went back into the house, Peter brought 
the seeds of morning-glories to plant. They were to be 
trained up over the little arbor. Besides these, there were 
other curious little seeds of various kinds. They looked 
quite dry and dead but Peter assured her that they would 
all come up as fine plants for the new delightful little 
garden that was all her very own. 

The afternoon was gone in no time at all. Jane did not 
come. Probably she, too, had things to keep her busy 
after the downtown trip to the shops was accomplished. 
It was night and bedtime very soon. Somehow, as Mal¬ 
lory’s head sank into the pillow that last rather curious 
little trunk up in the attic came back to her mind. The 
lock had been just a little loose; maybe tomorrow, she and 
Jane could pry it open. Then they would dress up with 









THE ATTIC PLAT CORNER 


43 


the things that were in the little old trunk and play they 
were both old-fashioned ladies of long ago. And Baby 
Edith would be their child. Jane could be the mother and 
she would be the father. They'd have no end of sport. 

Mallory fell asleep dreaming of the playhouse up in the 
attic. Somehow, quite mysteriously, she and Jane were 
taking a voyage on the little model schooner that was 
under the glass case up there in a corner of the attic. 
Baby Edith had come to life. She walked about and talked 
like a real person but she seemed to have grown up. 

The dream was very confused for the toy-box came 
suddenly to light in the cabin of the little ship. How it 
got there, nobody knew. Father had telephoned to the 
city after supper and they had said that the box had been 
brought and put in the barn. The firm of movers quite 
insisted on this. But everybody knew it hadn't. 

Father said they'd just have to accept the loss; and 
here in the dream was the lost toy-box upon the little 
ship. Mallory wanted to open it at once but it turned 
into a garden trellis; and the garden trellis all covered with 
morning-glories was so pretty that she and Jane decided 
they would have a picnic for fun right away on the bench 
under it. They forgot all about the toy-box. 

The dream went right on with other absurdities and 
was finally lost in deep dreamless sleep. 

Mallory was wakened early in the morning by Jane's 


44 


THE PAHTALETTE DOLL 


call from the rocks upon the hill. She jumped like a flash 
from the bed and poked her tousled head out of the win' 
dow. "Til be there in a little while,” she called. 

“Sleepyhead,” called Jane back, and sat down upon a 
rock to wait for Mallory. 

Mallory rushed through the process of dressing at a 
gallop. She was soon sitting on the rock beside Jane. 

“I had to call you,” declared Jane. “I know it's ever 
so early.” 

c Tm glad you did. You know, yesterday afternoon, 
I started to arrange the corner by the window in the attic. 
I made a darling room there. We don’t need the toy fur' 
niture at all. Just wait till you see it! We’ll play there 
after breakfast, shall we?” 

Jane nodded. “I got the shoes,” she said, “and a brown 
coat, ever so pretty. And Mother bought a hat to trim 
for me too. It’s going to have a wreath of roses and 
forget'me'nots.” 

But Mallory wasn’t so much interested in the clothes. 
She was all bubbling over with what she had done in the 
attic,—about the table, and the chairs, and the old wooden 
cradle; about the queer little trunk that had the loose 
lock, and her curiosity about what might be inside. 

“We’ll get a hammer and open it after breakfast,” she 
said. “I think we ought to be able to get it open. It’s 
the only trunk that we can open, I’m afraid. The others 


THE ATTIC PLAY CORKER 


45 


are locked tight except some that have Aunt Esther’s 
things in them. Mother told me not to touch those.” 

"Supposing it should contain a treasure!” Jane sug- 
gested. “Bags of gold!” 

“They wouldn’t be in a trunk. They’d be hidden some- 
where. Nobody locks bags of gold up in a trunk, Jane! 
They put them in the bank.” She laughed. 

“But there might be something fine.” 

“No doubt there is.” 

“How big is the trunk?” 

“Oh, just about so,” explained Mallory measuring with 
hands. “It’s all decorated with little brass knobs of tack- 
heads and it’s black. It looks very old indeed.” 

“Fun to peek inside! I dare say we will find something.” 

It was a splendid mystery. No doubt that little old 
trunk with the loose lock held some sort of old treasure. 

“There probably isn’t anything in it but just old let¬ 
ters,” Jane said finally. “That’s what one always finds in 
attics, you know.” 

“But there might be dresses for us to dress up in,” Mal¬ 
lory argued. “Wouldn’t it be fun to find an old dress to 
go over the hoop skirt that’s hanging up there on that 
attic nail? We’ll try on the hoop skirt. There ought to 
be a queer bonnet or so. You know the kind they used 
to wear in Great-grandmother’s time, with strings that 
tied under their chins and roses in a wreath around their 


46 


THE PAHTALETTE DOLL 


faces under the poke of the brim. Haven't you seen pic" 
tures of them?" 

Jane nodded. “We have one. It's black," she laughed. 
“Imagine wearing anything like that!" 

“Funny!" 

“Yes, ever so funny; but in those days that sort of thing 
was fashionable!" The two giggled. 

“Some day, I suppose our clothes will look exactly as 
funny," said Jane. “Maybe my new hat will be quite 
ridiculous when some little girl that is my grandchild finds 
it put away in a trunk in our attic." 

“Come on up to the attic and let's look at that trunk," 
Mallory suggested. “See if you think we can open it; we 
can tiptoe so as not to wake Mother. We needn't talk 
very loud. That corner is right over her room so we'll 
have to be careful." 

Hand in hand they ran down the hill of the orchard, 
opened the side door and found the maid dusting the 
living-room; they turned up the backstairs softly and 
opened the latch of the attic door carefully. At the top 
of the stair, they stopped to watch the robins and then 
turned to the playhouse corner. Jane exclaimed over its 
perfection. 

“Just like a real little room," she cried with hushed 
voice, mindful of not waking Mallory's mother below. 
“Oh, it's dear, Mallory! I think it's like a real house, and 
so cozy." 


THE ATTIC PLAY CORNER 


47 



Mallory in her playhouse in the attic 


She sat down upon one of the cane-bottomed chairs 
and softly rocked the wooden cradle with her foot. “They 
used to knit or sew, you know, while they rocked the baby 
like this ,’ 1 she explained. “I wish we could get the spin- 
ning wheel over here. I'd like to see how it goes. Where's 
the trunk, Mallory?" 

Mallory had been standing, looking pridefully at her 
afternoon's busy housemaking. 

“Over there," said she pointing. “Come and see it!" 

Jane jumped to her feet. Together they ran to the little 
trunk. 

“You see how loose the lock is," said Mallory, moving 
it to and fro. 

“Let me try!" 

Yet try as she might, Jane could not budge the lock an 
inch more than had Mallory. 













48 


THE PAHT ALETTE DOLL 


“It looks ever so interesting,” she kept saying. “I wish 
we could open it.” 

“I could get a hammer oniy we’d wake Mother!” 

“We’ll have to wait. After breakfast we can try again. 
You can bring a hammer and break the lock. Will your 
mother let you? Have you asked her?” 

“I forgot to,” said Mallory. “But I’ll ask her.” 

“I think I would,” said Jane. “You see, it might be 
better.” 

“I suppose so.” 

“It won’t possibly open without a hammer?” Again 
she tried the lock. But the old lock held fast. 

“Mother said I could peep into things if I put every¬ 
thing back all right, only I was not to touch Aunt Esther’s 
trunks or the boxes over in that corner.” 

She pointed to the spot where the model of the little 
schooner was pushed against old leather trunks and a 
queer old carpet-bag hung upon a nail overhead. The 
little strange old trunk was not so very far away from 
there, yet it could not be said to belong to that special 
place. It was wedged in behind a modern-looking trunk. 
A big basket-trunk showed on its other side. 

“Let’s see. We can’t move it, can we?” 

“Not without making a noise.” 

“We’ll have to wait. I’ll come back as soon as I can 
after I’ve done my practicing,” sighed Jane. “Don’t you 
open it till I come, will you?” 


THE ATTIC PLAT CORNER 


49 


“No,” promised Mallory. "And to be quite sure, I’ll 
ask Mother about it. I know, though, she won’t mind 
our opening it if we put things back carefully afterwards.” 

The two knelt beside the little trunk and tugged at the 
lock. "See, there’s a nail that’s gone,” said Jane. "If we 
only had a hammer.” 

But it was useless. The little trunk guarded its treasure 
and was still tightly closed when the breakfast gong sud- 
denly sounded below and brought the two little girls 
suddenly to their feet. 

"Oh,” cried Jane. "I have to go right home. And I 
promised to be back in time to set the breakfast table for 
Mother. Oh, dear! We did get up so very early.” 

As Jane’s feet flew toward home, Mallory came into 
the dining-room. 

"Hello,” she greeted. "I’ve been up since six o’clock! 
Jane and I’ve been up in the attic. We want to open that 
funny little old trunk that’s up there, may we, Mother?” 

"I don’t believe I know which one,” said Mother ab¬ 
sently as she poured out Father’s hot coffee into the big 
blue Willow cup. "It isn’t any of Aunt Esther’s trunks, 
is it? I want to take care of those myself.” 

"No,” said Mallory. "It isn’t with the very old things 
in their corner either; you didn’t want me to touch them 
But this trunk isn’t there. It’s just a small trunk; it looks 
ever so interesting and the lock is loose; we’ll put every- 


50 


THE P AMT ALETTE DOLL 


thing back where we found it. We won’t hurt anything.” 

“Well, that’s all right, dear,” mused Mother, turning 
the cream into her own cup. “But be very careful of any 
old things you might find and put everything back with 
care.” 

“Oh, yes, Mother,” promised Mallory. 

She could hardly wait for breakfast to be over and for 
Jane to come back and play in the attic: they were really 
going to open that mysterious old trunk and find out what 
might be inside. As soon as Mother and Father rose 
from the table, she went out to the tool house to find a 
hammer. Then she ran up the path toward the meadows 
to meet Jane coming down. 



xx* 

XXXXXXSOQOC 



«£** xxxxxxxxxx 

d&iJ 'i 5 

* " ”■»» 

xicxxxx 

I »<^3 CHAPTERS. 4®*“ I 

xsocxxxxx'sosxxxxxxxxxxxwx*’ 


THE TREASURE TRUNK 

“Well,” called Jane as Mallory caught up with her 
half way down the orchard slope. “Now we are really 
going to have the fun in the attic, aren’t we?” 

It seemed truly delightful. They could hardly wait to 
open the big white door of the attic and run up the steep 
stairs to where the little trunk lay. 

But it was not as easy as they had thought it would be 
to force that lock. True, they had the hammer but even 
though the two worked hard at trying to break the nails 
that held the lock, it held fast. Moreover there was evh 
dently a strong catch inside. The two hammered. They 
pried. They tugged and pulled. They worked for fully 
an hour and then sat down upon the floor to rest. 

“I hadn’t any idea it would be so hard,” declared Mab 
lory. “The idea that we can’t get into it or budge it!” 

“The idea,” echoed Jane. She stopped for a moment 
and began to try to pry at the side of the trunk again. 
“It seems loose,” she remarked. “I don’t see why the 
catch won’t break. Your mother wouldn’t mind your 
breaking the lock, I hope. It’s just such an old trunk 
nobody will ever want to use it again.” 

51 


52 


THE PANT ALETTE DOLL 


“Oh, that’s all right,” declared Mallory. “Now, let me 
try,” and she took the hammer and began again with a 
vim. Surely, the nails were getting much looser. Then 
very suddenly the lock gave way, the nails came out and 
there was the precious trunk all ready to be opened! 

“There,” she exclaimed, triumphantly. “I did it!” 

Jane thoughtfully picked up the small brass nails that 
had fallen from the lock. She put them carefully aside. 
“Now,” she agreed, “we’ll see.” 

The lid of the trunk opened quite without any diffi- 
culty. The trunk was packed full of things. Over its 
top was spread some old-fashioned calico. It was a pat¬ 
tern of brown with tiny red buds in pink. They were 
enclosed in ovals of apple-green. 

The calico was tucked tight down over the things that 
were put away in the trunk. Mallory lifted it off and 
then gave a little cry of surprise for the very first thing 
that came out of the trunk was a queer old-fashioned dress 
that must have once belonged to a little girl long ago. 

“Look,” she cried, “Oh, look! Isn’t it funny, Jane? 
I do believe it will fit me. Oh, I think I’ll try it on.” 

The dress had a low neck. It was of coral-colored silk. 
It had queer little puffs of short sleeves and both neck 
and sleeves were edged with rows of narrow black velvet 
ribbon. The short waist was full and was let into a very 
full gathered skirt, trimmed at the bottom with similar 
rows of black velvet. It was a charming little dress. 


THE TREASURE TRUHK 


53 


“But wait,” urged Jane. “Wait a bit, Mallory. Maybe 
I'll find one too. What’s next? Let’s see.” 

Mallory, remembering Mother’s caution, laid the coral 
dress carefully aside where it was out of the dust. “I 
don’t know what Mother would say to our opening this,” 
she mused. “But if we put the things back, it will be all 
right, I think. The trunk must be one that got pushed 
out of place. It probably belongs with those very very 
old things over in that other corner. But it’s open now! 
Let’s see. We’ll be careful.” 

Next there were all manner of strangedooking petti' 
coats, very full, very embroidered. And pantalettes too, 
long legs with frills that would come away down around 
the ankles. Imagine wearing things like that and having to 
run about and play in them. They would tear in no time, 
even though they were made of stout muslin. Mallory 
held them up to herself. Then she looked down at her 
own bare knees below her short bloomers and laughed. 
“Suppose you had had to dress in things like this,” she 
giggled. “Just think of it!” 

But Jane was already at the other things. She brought 
forth a little roll of striped stockings and some small thin' 
soled slippers that were slightly worn. They had straps 
and wee little black bows at the front. “Mallory, I do 
believe they’ll fit,” she exclaimed. 

“I’ll dress up and run downstairs to show Mother,” 


54 


THE P AMT ALETTE DOLL 


laughed Mallory. “I think they must have belonged to 
my Great-grandmother. 1 ' 

"Look at the little hoop skirt , 11 laughed Jane, lifting a 
queer contraption of hoops and tape. It fell in bell-shape. 
It had a band of tape at the top and a buckle that fastened 
to the side. "There are funny hard things next; boxes, I 
think. Shall we open them ? 11 

Mallory laid the hoop skirt with the other things and 
fell on her knees before the trunk again. "Yes, let's see ! 11 
she exclaimed. She lifted another covering that was a 
small old-fashiond quilt make of odd bits of strange- 
patterned silks. Under it was a long linen sampler with 
a quaint pattern of roses about its border. It was done in 
cross-stitch. Inside this was a lettered alphabet very cun¬ 
ningly worked. Below it read: 

THE WORK OF ANN MALLORY AGED NINE YEARS. 

There followed a varied pattern of garden pinks and red 
roses. The date was given too, ever so long ago. This 
must be Great-grandmother's very own work, her very 
own little trunk containing all her own precious things 
that had been carefully kept all these years. 

But the next thing that Mallory lifted from the old 
trunk was not a box at all, as she had supposed. It 
was a very tiny trunk, a doll's trunk about ten inches long 
and six inches deep. It was made of black leather and 


55 


THE TREASURE TRUHK 

trimmed with strips of tan. On this in rows were innu- 
merable round brass-headed tacks, round and firm. There 
was a string tied at the front of the little trunk and to it 
was fastened a queer large key. 

Mallory took the trunk in her lap and turned the key. 
Jane stood close beside her almost holding her breath. 
The lid came up without any trouble and, if you will 
believe it, inside there were wee doll dresses! Strange 
little dresses made with full skirts like the coral-colored 
silk of the child to whom the larger trunk and the small 
doll trunk had evidently belonged. 

First there was a queer black silk. It had full sleeves 
trimmed with yellowed old lace; the lace about the neck 
was a trifle torn. Next there was a strange blue wool 
dress with tight bodice and full skirt. It fastened with 
queer old-fashioned hooks and eyes down the front. 

After that there was an embroidered coat with large 
pattern of red roses upon soft blue, and a queer-looking 
wrapper-dress of calico in a quaint brown and red pat¬ 
tern. It had a wee pocket at the left side. This little 
calico doll dress was trimmed with plain strips of bias 
banding around the round collar and the hem of the skirt. 
If only there were a doll to fit these darling funny old 
dresses! But Baby Edith could no more have worn them 
than Mallory could herself. 

That was all, no more—except a long straight white 


56 THE PAHT ALETTE DOLL 

slip that was in all probability a doll's nightgown. Mah 
lory sighed as she took it out. There was nothing else in 
the little trunk, nothing! Nor could a doll have been put 
into so small a toy trunk even if it had fitted these dresses. 
“I wish we'd find the doll," she said. "Oh, I just wish 
we would.” 

Yet the next thing to come from the trunk was not a 
doll at all. It was a package of strange-looking yellow- 
covered magazines done up in another wrapping of calico. 
They were copies of Godey’s Ladies’ Boo the old maga¬ 
zine that ladies long ago used to read as Mother now reads 
The 'Womans Home Companion and The Ladies Home 
Journal. 

They were full of queer pictures, steel engravings at 
the front and double columns of fine print with an occa- 
sional picture. At the back was an old colored fashion- 
plate with ladies in full hoopskirts and queer flowered 
bonnets, their hair dressed in short curls that fell to each 
side of their cheeks, and under the bonnets were clustered 
garlands of flowers close to the face. 

The little girls pictured with these handsome ladies were 
dressed much as they; but skirts were shorter and there 
were the long white embroidered pantalettes coming from 
beneath, strange black-slippered little feet and white stock¬ 
ings. The little girls wore flat wide-brimmed hats trimmed 
with looped ribbon streamers. The boys had long trousers 


THE TREASURE TRUHK 57 

and short jackets and wore small visored caps with tassels. 

For a long time, the two little girls turned the leaves of 
the strange old magazines and wondered. People had 
dressed like that and they had not thought it strange. 
Whatever would those old-fashioned people have said to 
little girls nowadays in straight box dresses with full 
bloomers and socks? 

Mallory carefully gathered up the copies of the old 
Godey books and tied them together. “Now, let’s go 
on,” she resumed, taking a box from the old trunk. 

The box was carefully tied with tape. It was quite hard 
to free the knots. The box was heavy too. But when the 
last tape had been unknotted and the lid taken off, it 
contained packages wrapped in papers. Jane picked one 
out and unrolled it. 

Then she gave a delighted squeal for there was a little 
doll-dish, an old-fashioned fruit dish! It was white with 
a raised red pattern of flowers done in dull red. Mallory 
was unwrapping more—little plates, a meat dish, vegetable 
dishes. It was a doll’s dinner set. 

The two little girls hardly spoke. They were so excited 
that there were no fitting words to utter. They cried, 

“Oh-” and “Ah-” as they set down one wee dish 

after the other till the attic floor near the corner of the 
old trunk was bright with the red of the toy dinner set. 

“They belonged to the little girl who had the doll 
trunk.” 


58 


THE PAH?ALETTE DOLL 


“Perhaps we might find the doll. Oh, do you suppose 
so ? 11 

There was a long lumpy package still at the bottom of 
the old trunk. It looked like a roll of linen, tightly wound. 
It was quite long and felt hard as Mallory drew it out. 
It was pinned tightly. “Oh, oh!” she exclaimed. “I do 
believe, Jane-” 

“Is it the doll?” exclaimed Jane. “Oh, quick! Let's 
find out.” 

When the roll of linen had been unpinned and un- 
wound, there was the doll! She was large, about twenty- 
two inches long. She had a composition head and painted 
curls clustering about it, even black curls. Her hair was 
parted on either side of her high wide forehead. Her 
complexion was a soft pale pink. 

She had dark glass eyes set into her head under arching 
brows of black. Her lashes were painted dark. She had 
a little round nose, well modeled, and beneath it a rosebud 
mouth and dimpled chin. She looked very quaint and 
old-fashioned and not at all like the dolls little girls of 
to-day play with. 

The doll had a cloth body, long unbending arms that 
tapered down and were sewed at the ends to represent 
the hands. She had an hourglass waist and wore a plain 
cotton chemise, a pair of long pantalettes trimmed with 
an edge of hand-made lace, a full white petticoat with 


THE TREASURE TRUHK 


59 



Minerva and her belongings from the old trun\ 


tucks and edging. She had white cotton stockings and 
strange black slippers that tied with ribbon laces. Her 
legs were jointed at the knees. They hung limp. 

“Just look at her,” cried Mallory. “Isn't she a darling! 
I shall ask Mother if I may not keep her to play with, and 
I shall have to find a name for her.” 

“Mehitable,” suggested Jane. “That was my Great' 
grandmother's name.” 

“I don't know,” mused Mallory. “I dare say she is 
already named. If any little girl made all those dresses 
and kept her so beautifully and played with her, I think 
she must have had a name. I shall try to find out what 
her real name was. There. See? There are some old 
letters and things. Maybe it might just happen that we 
could find out what her name was, her real name long 
ago!” 





60 


THE PAMT ALETTE DOLL 


“It must be strange to have been packed away so long 
and then to be suddenly wakened up and see two strange- 
looking little girls instead of her own little girl mother,” 
mused Jane. “How different everything must seem to 
her. That little girl to whom she belonged must have been 
very very careful of her.” 

“I dare say she was; she must have loved her.” 

“She is lovable, isn’t she?” 

“Yes, very! Cosy and comfortable. You feel you want 
to hold her and hug her.” 

“But you must be polite. She looks prim.” 

“I dare say she isn’t really prim all the way through; 
there’s fun in her.” 

“Oh, yes.” 

“What shall we do with her?” 

“I tell you what. We’ll surprise Mother! We’ll dress 
her, and then I’ll dress up in the coral silk with all the fix¬ 
ings. And I’ll run out of the back door without Mother’s 
ever seeing me; and I’ll run around to the front door 
while you watch. Then I’ll ring the doorbell and we’ll 
see what happens!” 

“And I’ll dress the doll. What dress’ll she put on?” 

Mallory was already slipping her arms from the red 
gingham’s armholes. “I want to see if I can really wear 
the things,” she laughed. “The waist looks very tight; 
maybe I can squeeze myself. Oh, put the funny blue 








- 

I MaUory puts onr *yfl S 

„ Sgp tW W^sWt/ A: 

^ X X N A X ^X^ V **^ ^****^ 7 ^*^*^* 
























62 


THE PAHTALETTE DOLL 


wool dress on, Jane. Oh, isn’t this all much more fun 
than you ever imagined? Now, how do you suppose we 
ever found this very trunk that is just right for us? It 
might have been some old uninteresting trunk that did not 
have toys or little girl dresses in it at all!” 

She doubled up in a little heap as she looked at her 
ankles encased in their long trouser-like pantalettes of 
embroidery. "You don’t know how queer I feel,” she 
declared. "Oh, my!” She considered the heap of clothes. 
"I suppose that hoop skirt ought to go on next,” she de- 
dared. And she slid it over her head. 

"Put on the petticoat next,” urged Jane. "I know it 
goes that way. Will it button?” 

Mallory fastened the tape of the hoop skirt with its 
buckle and slid through the opening of the full white 
petticoat. "Not quite,” she said. "I’ll need to pin it but 
that won’t matter much. Now for the dress. Won’t 
Mother be surprised! Whatever will I do with my hair? 
They never would wear it my way! You can see by the 
picture. Let’s see if I can fix mine a little like it! Oh, 
Jane, do go down to my room and bring me up a wet hair¬ 
brush. Put water on it. I won’t put the silk dress on till 
you come.” 

Jane jumped to her feet. But the sight of Mallory ar¬ 
rayed in the white petticoat and long pantalettes hanging 
below was too much for her. She fairly shrieked in gales 


63 


THE TREASURE TRUT^K 

of laughter. “You do look such a picture, 1 '* she cried. 
“I just can't help it!" 

“Well, when you try it on, you'll look the same," re- 
plied Mallory, walking back and forth over the attic floor. 

Just wait till you try it. Do hurry with the hairbrush. 
It's getting near lunch time. We've been up here this 
whole morning! Wherever has time gone, do you sup- 
pose?" 

"It's gone back over eighty years," said Jane, turning 
at the head of the attic stair. “That was the date on the 
sampler, anyhow." 

“It might be even more." 

“Maybe!" Mallory went to one of the higlvbacked 
chairs and sat primly erect with the doll upon her lap. 
“I hardly dare move any more," she said. “Come back 
quickly." 

In a few moments, Jane's steps were heard outside the 
latched door of the attic. She was back with a dripping 
hairbrush and proceeded to “slick" Mallory's hair straight 
off her forehead. With a band of quaint old ribbon Jane 
tied it all down tightly, passing the ribbon in front of 
Mallory's ears. Mallory surveyed herself in a bit of 
cracked mirror that hung from the attic beams. “You 
wouldn't know me, would you?" she asked. “I certainly 
look as if I’d jumped right out of a Godey book. Now 
for the coral silk." 


64 


THE PAMT ALETTE DOLL 


Jane slipped it over Mallory's smoothed hair and fast' 
ened it behind while Mallory drew her breath in as much 
as she could and exclaimed over the snugness of the tight 
fit. “But I can stand it," she declared. “Where are those 
funny stockings?" 

The stockings went on as easily as had the other things. 
Cinderella herself could not have had less trouble in get' 
ting into the glass slipper than had Mallory in putting on 
those strangedooking little black slippers that had been 
worn long ago by Greatgrandmother. 

She stood finally triumphant before the mirror, perfect 
in her old'fashioned quaintness, doll in her arms. “I’m 
not myself," she declared. “Oh, it feels so funny! Now, 
Jane, you go ahead and watch out. If there's anybody 
around, you whistle. And I'll run back. Watch out! 
Don't let anybody see me now." She stepped softly down 
the attic stair after Jane, who peered to right and left as 
she went and called from time to time, “Oh, come on. 
Come on," as Mallory lingered, hesitating in the doorway. 

The maids were in the kitchen. Nobody was about 
downstairs at all. The two managed to get outdoors quite 
without detection. Around the back of the big white 
house they ran and through the garden to the front door' 
way under its colonnade of great white pillars. 

“You hide behind the big boxbush, Jane," whispered 
Mallory. “Watch!" 


THE TREASURE T RU >{K 


65 



Mallory goes to the door in costume 


Mallory ran up the short flight of steps that led to the 
big front door. She used the knocker and waited. Jane 
peeked from the side of the boxbush, laughing. 

The two did not have long to wait for Vinci, the little 
housemaid, came to the door. It swung back. She gave 
a queer little cry of surprise. 

“Oh, oh, this is not little Miss Mallory, is it ? 11 she 
ejaculated, looking at the small figure in pink coral silk 
and pantalettes who stood in the doorway. 

“Sh'hr warned Mallory. “Fm not myself at all. Fm 
somebody else. And please is Mrs. Deming in? I would 
like very much to see her.” She walked into the parlor 
and sat down upon the old-fashioned sofa that was cov¬ 
ered with old gold brocade. 









66 


THE PAHTALETTE DOLL 


Vinci stared in amazement. Then she laughed and 
turned upstairs to look for Mallory’s mother. She under' 
stood. Her face was as sober as could be. She wasn’t 
going to give her away if Mallory wanted to play a joke. 

“Mrs. Deming will be down at once. Miss,” she am 
nounced as she came back, but she went into the sitting' 
room and the door stayed open. Mallory waited. Mother 
did not come at once. Mallory wondered what Jane was 
doing and why she didn’t go into the sitting room to 
watch the fun too. 

She was surprised, suddenly, to hear the doorbell ring 
again and, thinking it must be Jane who was playing her 
side of the joke, she stayed where she was. Again came 
Vinci. There was a voice in the hall. 

Before Mallory knew what was happening, into the 
parlor walked a lady very elegantly dressed in a tailor' 
made dress of gray cloth. She stared at the sight of Mah 
lory sitting upon the gold brocade sofa with the doll in 

her arms “Why, why, why-” she gasped, coming to' 

ward Mallory through the open doorway. 

But just at that moment Mallory’s mother came down' 
stairs and she too drew back in amazement. 

Mallory curtsied. “I have come from the Long Ago,” 
she laughed. “And this is my doll.” 

“The very image of her Greatgrandmother’s portrait,” 
declared the lady. 


THE TREASURE TRUMK 


67 


Mother laughed. "I suppose you found them all in the 
attic,” said Mother. “You certainly did surprise us, Mal- 
lory. But dear, you had better not run about any more 
like that for those are very precious old things and you 
might hurt them. Did you find that doll in the attic too? 
Oh, isn't she a love of an old doll!” 

Both Mother and the guest admired Mallory and the 
doll tremendously. They wanted to know all about every¬ 
thing that had been happening in the attic that morning. 
They were tremendously interested. Some day the guest 
wanted to see all the dinner-set, the trunk, the old dresses 
in the toy trunk, and the magazines. Her name was Miss 
Weed. She had come to have luncheon with Mother. 

By the time Mallory found Jane, she had become quite 
used to walking about in the queer hoop skirt that had at 
first been so hard to manage that it went right up straight 
in front when she tried to sit on a chair. She didn't want 
to take off the coral silk at all. But she did. 

The doll, meanwhile, lay in her wooden cradle in the 
corner that had been the playhouse. It was almost lunch 
time. Jane was going to stay. The two had to hurry. 
They folded the strange old things and put them back into 
the old trunk, the doll with them. Mother had said to 
do it. 

“I wish we could keep her to play with,” sighed Mal¬ 
lory, again in bloomers and short dress, socks and tan 


68 


THE PANT ALETTE DOLL 


sandals. l Tm going to ask Mother to let me have her for 
keeps. I like her better than any doll I ever had. She’s 
real. I’d like to play with her! And, besides that, my 
toy-box is lost and I have no dolls at all now! I ought to 
have her, for I know she wants somebody to love her and 
show her all the new things that have happened since she 
fell asleep in the old trunk and it was locked up and left 
long ago.” 

“There’d be lots of new things for her to see,” suggested 
Jane. 

With a backward glance at the closed lid of the old 
trunk, arm in arm, the two little girls went down the attic 
stair. It had been a wonderful morning. They felt very 
much awed at coming so close to the Long Ago. 


SL 

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CHAPTER Y. 5 

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MINERVA IDA SEES TODAY 

There was nobody at luncheon but Mother, Miss Weed, 
Jane and Mallory. Father had gone to the city early on 
the commuters' train. It was a lively luncheon, neverthe- 
less, for Mallory and Jane had a great deal to tell about 
the wonderful old trunk and all that was in it; about the 
dinner-set, the wee doll trunk, the doll dresses, the Godey 
books, and the package of letters, the sampler and every¬ 
thing else. 

Miss Weed evidently found it all quite as interesting 
as they did. She said she had an old doll too; some day, 
they should come to her house for a party and see her old 
doll whose name was Cornelia. 

She said that Cornelia always sat in her parlor upon a 
table in a little twig chair made of willow and put to¬ 
gether with pins. Mallory and Jane were anxious to see 
her. They said, if Mother would let them, they would 
bring their old doll. 

Mother was going out right after luncheon but, never¬ 
theless, she and Miss ^X^eed were so interested in the 
things the children had chanced upon in the attic that they 
69 


70 


THE PAHT ALETTE DOLL 


were easily persuaded to mount the steep attic stairs be" 
fore they left and have a peep at everything. Mallory 
lifted the trunk lid while the others stood about; one after 
the other, she showed all the wonderful treasures. 

Mother said she would take the letters and look them 
over. She took the package and untied the tape that 
bound the yellowed papers tight. In an envelope, she 
came upon an old daguerreotype. It was a kind of small 
square presseddeather box, flat with two covers that fast" 
ened with tiny hooks at one end. 

As the hook was loosened, the covers opened like a 
book. On one side of this case was a red velvet stamping, 
on the other the picture of a child of long ago with full 
skirts and pantalettes, curls clustering about a sweet little 
round face. 

In her arms she held the doll! It was the very little 
girl to whom all had belonged. Mother lifted a bit of 
writing from her lap which had fallen from the case as 
she opened it. It read, “Ann Mallory, aged nine with her 
doll, Minerva Ida Adams.” 

“Oh, we hoped we'd find out her name ,’ 1 cried Mallory, 
clapping her hands and dancing about as much as the attic 
space would allow. “Oh, Mother, she ought to belong 
to me. I haven’t any doll. I want her to keep to play 
with. Please let me, please. I want her.” 

“Well,” considered Mother, “I think she ought to be" 


























































MISERY A ID A SEES TODAY 


71 



long to you, dear. And the toys ought to be yours too, 
if you could take very good care of them. They are such 
unusual old things that you would have to treat them with 
great care and respect.” 

“Oh, I certainly would,” urged Mallory. 

“We both would,” put in Jane. “We'd want to; you 
know, Mother let me have her old doll, Baby Edith. I take 
splendid care of her.” She held Baby Edith up for inspect 
tion. She was a jointed French Bebe Jumeau. “Mallory 
ought to have Minerva Ida Adams.” 

“I'm sure she ought,” added Miss Weed. “But it seems 
to me that the dress and the letters should be put back 
into the old trunk and kept.” 

“Yes,” agreed Mother. “That is what we will do. 
Mallory may have the doll and the toys, but the other 
things we will put back where they were.” 

It was settled. Into the old trunk, Mother carefully 














72 


THE PAH? ALETTE DOLL 


packed the clothes that had long ago been worn by Mab 
lorys great-grandmother. The trunk and dinner set were 
left in the happy corner of the attic playhouse that was 
beside the window looking over the lawn. 

“And now, children," suggested Mother, “it's by far 
too fine a day to miss the sunlight outdoors. You can play 
in the attic when it is stormy, but if I were you I would 
play outdoors this afternoon. Why don't you put Mi¬ 
nerva's pelisse upon her? Put on her funny bonnet and 
take her out to see what the world nowadays looks like." 

It seemed the very thing to do. So that queer little 
brown brocade wrap with the lace upon it was a “pelisse!" 
Mother said that ladies long ago wore just such quaint 
shoulder capes as that, long front pieces fastened it on. 
The pelisse had a funy red button-buckle and the bonnet 
of blue tied under Minerva’s chin. 

“What are the especially new things that have hap¬ 
pened all these years since she's been shut up in that 
trunk?" inquired Mallory of Jane, when Miss Weed and 
Mother had gone downstairs after a hurried peep at the 
robins' nest at the head of the stairs. 

Jane considered. “Why," she said, “there must have 
been no railways for one thing. People traveled by stage¬ 
coach and they used horses and carriages and buggies." 

“Funny to think of not going about in a car," ejacu¬ 
lated Mallory; “but even when Mother was small there 


MINERVA IDA SEES TODAY 


73 


were no automobiles at all. She remembers how people 
used to exclaim when they saw one in the street. I sup- 
pose all this town must be almost new to Minerva Ida 
Adams.” 

“It must be , 11 Jane answered. “Mother has told me 
quite a little about this old town. It used to be just coum 
try with woods and meadows all around this hill. That 
was when this house was built. People thought it strange 
to build so far outside of the town. There were just a few 
wooden houses, two stories, down by the waterfront. 
There were a few little shops there then.” 

“And no trolley cars even,” declared Mallory. “Just 
nothing, I suppose, but country roads.” 

“With here and there a homestead-” 

“And in town, the Green with the churches.” 

Jane nodded. “They used to pasture the cows on the 
Green,” she explained. 

“And when anybody went calling, it was an albday 
visit,” she continued. “They'd arrive early in the morning 
and stay till quite late. The distances were so apt to be 
long that they couldn't make short visits; besides, they 
went so seldom, I suppose there was a lot to talk over 
when they came.” 

Suddenly Mallory suggested: “Let us take Minerva up 
on the rocks back of the house. I dare say she will not 
find changes there. Probably little Ann Mallory used to 


74 


THE PAMT ALETTE DOLL 


play with her up there too, just as your mother and mine 
played. Would you like to go, Minerva, my dear? 1 ’ 

Minerva slightly inclined her head with its blue bonnet. 

“I think , 11 said Mallory, “she may be a little shy and 
not want to answer in words. I think she wants to go. 
We'll take her up there and show her the railway trains 
passing too. And we can see the trolley-cars and the auto¬ 
mobiles. It will be fun to look down into the town and 
have her see it all and see how changed it is . 11 

“Exactly , 11 agreed Jane, taking her own doll and follow¬ 
ing Mallory down the steep attic stair past the robins 1 
window. 

“The old house must even be changed for her , 11 sug¬ 
gested Mallory, as she and Jane passed through the old 
sitting-room on their way to the side-door. “But I think 
she'll remember the garden, and the summerhouses, and 
the old fountain." 

Up there upon the further rocks on the other side of 
the orchard's stone wall, up at the top of the hill back of 
the big white house, Minerva Ida Adams resting upon a 
rock gaz,ed off over the old town and seemed at home. 
“I'm sure she likes it," said Mallory. “She looks just as 
if she really did! You do, don't you, Minerva dear? I'm 
going to call you 'Minnie' if you don't mind. The other 
name is so very long. I think Ann Mallory must have 
called you 'Minnie . 1 Jane, let's play house right here." 


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76 


THE PAHTALETTE DOLL 


Jane agreed. There were two sets of rocks and she 
chose those by the little precipice for her home. Over 
there, she retired with Baby Edith. “You can come to 
call on me and spend the whole day by and by,” she 
called. She set her doll down beside a clump of butter- 
cups. 

Mallory took Minnie into her lap. The doll was a 
delightfully comfortable doll to hold on one's lap because 
she was so soft. “Look,” murmured Mallory. “See that 
smoke over there, Minnie? That's the place where the 
railway came long ago. It was after you were put away 
in the trunk and Ann Mallory had grown up and been 
married, I suppose. 

“At first, Father said, there were three coaches just 
like big stagecoaches, with a queer engine and just one 
track. At night there were bright sparks from the wood 
that the engine burned. They didn't even have coal. Coal 
is what we burn nowadays, Minnie,'' she explained. “You 
didn't know anything about that,” she laughed. “Now, 
did you?” 

It was apparent from Minnie Ida's astonished silence 
that she had not and so Mallory went on. “Before you 
woke up from your long sleep like Rip Van Winkle, every¬ 
body just had wood or peat that was cut from swamp 
earth and dried. Isn't that what you remember? And 
big fireplaces where they cooked instead of on stoves, my 


MINERVA IDA SEES TODAY 77 

dear? Still Minnie Ida kept her silence, listening. Her 
dark eyes seemed to receive the information intelligently, 
interestedly. 

“Aren’t you ever coming to see me in my house?” It 
was Jane’s voice. She had been picking up pebbles that 
lay around the rocks. “I’m going to make a pie,” she 
stated. “And down in the little cave is where I have my 
dishes. You never saw my dishes!” She ran down to the 
little cleft in the rocks where there was a very small cave. 
Its opening was hidden by a tangle of bushes. 

Mallory watched her go. “By and by,” she called back, 
“Minnie wants to know all about what’s happened since 
she went to sleep up in the old trunk in the attic.” She 
turned the old doll so that she faced about toward the 
town. 

She continued. “Do you see those very high build" 
ings? They’re factories. They make all sorts of things. 
You never saw them. They’ve come since your day. And 
that long car that’s ringing a gong. That’s the trolley" 
car. It goes by electricity, the thing that makes lightning 
in the sky, Minnie,” she explained. “People ride in that 
car as you no doubt rode about in a stage coach; or else 
they go in that funny sort of carriage that you see whining 
by. That is an automobile. It doesn’t even need a horse 
to draw it!” Mallory was growing interested. The lesson 
given to Minerva Ida Adams was also showing Mallory 
the changes that years had wrought. 


78 


THE PAHTALETTE DOLL 


Here Jane emerged from the mouth of the little cave 
carrying something in her arms. It was too much for 
Mallory. She deposited dear Minnie upon the rock and 
ran down to see what the mysterious things were. They 
seemed small, perhaps toy dishes. 

Yet what Jane brought in her arms was not a lot of toy 
dishes. It proved to be bits of old china that had been 
broken. There were also some jar-tops, some very old tin 
spoons, and odds and ends. “I leave them here,” she 
said. “They're what I use for mud pies when I play house 
up here. I'll give you some.'' 

She began to place the hoard in equal divisions upon 
the short stubby grass that grew about the rocky pasture- 
land. “You couldn't play with the real dinner-set in a 
place like this; and Mother says that when she was little 
and played here, she used this kind of thing for play and 
mud pies when they made houses up here on the rocks. 
So I did it. It's fun. That big piece, you see, can be any 
kind of a dish we happen to need. I like to make be¬ 
lieve!” 

“So do I. I've been making believe that Minnie has to 
be told about all sorts of things that have happened since 
she was put away. It’s a very long time ago,” sighed 
Mallory. “I hadn't even got as far as railway trains yet.” 

“And you didn't map out your house?” 

“No.” 


MINERVA ID A SEES TODAY 


79 


“Let's do it together!" 

They came up the slope, each with the bits of broken 
dishes Jane had kept hidden in the cave. “When I play 
here, IT1 show you how it is." 

“Let s have it a very old house and not a new one," 
Mallory put in. “Then Minnie will be more at home." 

“All right. This can be the kitchen. They ate in their 
kitchens, did you know that?" 

“Oh, did they?" 

Jane nodded wisely. “And there is its big big fireplace 
where they cooked. At its side is a big brick oven. They 
cooked in that too. Mother told me. We have a fire- 
place and an old oven in our house. I'll show them to 
you some time. You can stand in it and look right up 
and see the blue sky!" 

“Seems to me I remember Father's telling me that there 
used to be something like that in our house," mused Mah 
lory. 

But Jane went on. “They didn't have bathrooms or 
bathtubs," she pursued. “They washed in bowls and had 
pitchers of cold water. And here's the bedroom. There's 
the four-poster bed, you see," and Jane pointed to a ledge 
of rock. 

She went on. “Here's the parlor; that was only for 
very best, you know. The family sat in the sitting-room 
or in the kitchen. And here's the pantry. That's where 
you put your dishes, Mallory." 


THE PANT ALETTE DOLL 


Obediently, Mallory laid the bits of broken crockery 
upon the shelf of rock that Jane indicated. “Down in 
the hollow there by the big butternut tree there's a spring 
where I get water for mud pie play." 

Mallory was soon getting quite into the spirit of Jane's 
old-fashioned playhouse of make-believe. It seemed very 
real. She took off dear Minnie's bonnet and her pelisse 
and put her upon the imagined four-poster bed to rest. 

“I'm making a batch of ginger cookies," explained Jane, 
“and a pie or so too." She turned to go back to her own 
playhouse. “Come and spend the day with me soon and 
I'll give you some!" She was gone, laughing. 

Mallory fell to work over her own mud pies, just as 
little girls long ago must have done, just as little Ann 
Mallory might have played on those very rocks long long 
ago. The same blue spring sky overhead, the same blue 
water off over the houses and treetops below the high hill 
where stretched the waters of Long Island Sound. 

She worked very hard, bringing water from the little 
spring in the hollow, using a bit of glass jar for a water 
bucket. She mixed the dry earth that she scraped from 
the ground. She added a pinch of this and a bit of that, 
stirring with the tin spoon in a broken blue earthen bowl. 
She added a few leaves from a little nearby plant. 

Just as she had reached the critical stage where she was 
pouring the ingredients out into different bits of broken 


81 


MIHERVA IDA SEES TODAY 

saucers ready to be put into the big brick oven that Jane 
had talked about, she heard Mother’s voice calling. Look- 
ing behind her she saw Jane’s mother. The two had come 
over the rocks together from the back road. 

Just as we used to play,” smiled Jane’s mother. “It 
makes me feel as if I were Jane, quite a little girl again.” 
The two laughed. 

“Come, children,” cried Mallory’s mother. “We came 
to get you to take a ride. Bring Minerva Ida Adams for 
it will be an experience for her to go in an automobile. 
We’ll show her all that has happened since she went to 
sleep!” 

Jane came running. Her fingers were all dirty. “I’ll 
have to wash in the spring first,” she laughed. “I’ve been 
having a lovely time. But we must put our dishes away 
in the place where I keep them. If I don’t the boys will 
find them when they come to fly kites here and I’ll never 
have them to play with again. They throw them off the 
little precipice to see how far they can throw.” 

Mallory, too, gathered up the bits of china and carried 
them to the cave for safe keeping. There they were hidden 
under a bush where boys would not discover them. The 
two splashed their hands in the spring that was near the 
wee thread of brook in the hollow under the butternut 
tree. 

When they returned, they found their two mothers 


82 


THE PAHTALETTE DOLL 


with Baby Edith and Minnie Ida Adams in their arms. 
Mallory's mother was telling how Mallory had found 
Minnie that very morning up in the old attic of the big 
white house; and she was describing the coral silk dress 
and the dolhtrunk, the pantalettes, the toy dinner set, the 
playhouse corner of the attic, and the robins’ nest quite 
as if she had herself been a little girl. “Miss Weed has 
an even older doll,” she was saying. “It dates back to 
Colonial days.” 

“All this makes Baby Edith seem very young,” smiled 
Jane’s mother. “And yet that doll is thirty. Think of it!” 

“Jane likes her much better than modern dolls,” declared 
Mallory coming up. 

“I certainly do,” cried Jane, joining in. “And Mallory 
likes Minnie Ida better, I’m sure.” 

Then the four went down through the orchard to take 
Minnie Ida for her very first automobile drive. 

It certainly was a great event. Mallory had to sit with 
George in front so that Minerva Ida Adams might have 
a good view of all the wonders that had grown up in the 
town since her day. As the car whizzed over the smooth 
pavement of the elimshaded avenue Jane, Jane’s mother, 
Mallory’s mother, Mallory and even George kept pointing 
out new wonders to the astonished dark eyes of Minnie 
Ida Adams, who sat spellbound, listening and looking. 

Roadway, telephone poles, big high buildings, trucks, 


MIHERVA ID A SEES TODAY 


83 


bridges, railways, and electriccars flew by until they 
reached the old Town House and the Green uptown with 
its churches. Minnie Ida Adams found that here there 
had been fewer changes. Though the residences were all 
new, yet the old historic Green was the same. After all 
some of the old life remained, as she did, to marvel at 
those younger days. 



CORNELIA OF LONG AGO 

If we had been packed away in a trunk and then had 
wakened up generations later, what changes there would 
be! Minerva Ida Adams not only woke up but she also 
seemed to be deeply interested in all the new happenings 
that had come since her day. It became a kind of game 
that Jane and Mallory played, a wonderful game in which 
Minerva Ida had to be shown everything. 

The two girls began to learn through it a great many 
interesting things they had never known of before. With 
Father to guide them they looked up pictures of old saih 
ing vessels, stagecoaches and even the first railroads. 
They went to the Public Library with their mothers to 
see old histories and look at the pictures of what things 
used to be like. And Minnie Ida often went with them, 
being tremendously admired by everybody. 

Stranger yet, Minnie Ida really did appear to be alive. 
She had great personality and charm, though she was 
only a doll. Her very intelligent face often seemed lit up 
with thoughts that might be passing through her mind. 
Mallory and Jane used to say they could tell what she was 
84 


CORHELIA OF LOHG AGO 


85 


thinking, and Father and Mother said they often could 
do the same. 

For instance, Minnie Ida did not at all approve of slang. 
She liked quiet, refined manners; she disapproved of 
rough and tumble ways; she believed that all little girls 
should learn to sew and that they should not idle their 
time away nor play always but grow industrious and help' 
ful. She thought one ought to read and memorise, do 
lessons daily, and learn to cook. 

It was surprising that when Minnie Ida was about, both 
Mallory and Jane toned down to fit into her quiet reserve 
of good breeding. If they did not, Mallory said, she could 
plainly read disapproval upon Minnie Ida's face even 
though the doll said nothing. 

Yet Minnie Ida was most lovable. She was a cosy kind 
of doll, one that could be loved and taken care of, dressed 
and undressed, waked up in the morning and put to bed 
at night. When Mallory was alone with her, Minnie Ida 
was so companionable that she seemed like a real person. 

She even had a quaint sense of humor; and as for really 
being as prim as her clothes seemed to make her, no; 
Minnie Ida was not prim. She was human even though 
her body was only a cloth one with sewed joints. All 
who saw her realised this and spoke of it. 

Everybody entered into Mallory’s game about Minnie 
Ida. Everybody spoke to her when they met her out 


86 


THE PAHTALETTE DOLL 



The market man would say, “And how do you do, today , Miss Adams?" 

walking with Jane, or going about in the car to market 
with Mother and Mallory; or taking a stroll with Father. 
It was always the same wherever Mallory carried Minnie 
Ida. The market man would say, “And how do you do 
today, Miss Adams? 11 The librarian would as like as not 
suggest that she had found a rare old print of the old 
Green, showing how it was in Miss Adams 1 day and 
would not Miss Minnie like to look at it a moment. The 
friends of Mother’s that they met would invariably ask 
after Minnie’s health and invite her to call upon them. 

Thus Minerva Ida Adams’ popularity grew and Mab 
lory and Jane, falling into all the joy of the game that 
made Minnie Ida quite a personage, grew to think of her 
more and more as a living thing. 






CORDELIA OF LOHG AGO 


87 



Minerva gets a letter 


One day Mallory was alone. She was waiting for Jane 
to come over. It was a very rainy day, no playing out' 
doors on the rocks where the playhouses were having a 
fine showerbath. George and the car had swung down 
the drive to go to get Jane. She and Mallory were going 
to have an indoor playtime up under the eaves of the old, 
old attic in the playhouse corner by the window. Mallory 
had been impatiently waiting for Jane, her nose pressed 
tight against the glass and making blurs on the window' 
panes. 

Minnie Ida had not approved of the soiling of the win' 
dow'glass. Mallory suddenly saw it. She drew away as 
she saw their postman coming through the downpour. 
Then she put Minnie Ida down and ran to the door. 
Then, with a tiny envelope in her hand, she ran back to 
the sitting'room where Minnie Ida was waiting on the 
old'fashioned sofa. 


88 


THE P AMT ALETTE DOLL 

“Oh, Minnie,” she cried. “It’s for you. Ill read it, 
dear,” she said, and tore open the envelope to find a small 
sheet of paper that read: 

My dear Miss Adams: 

It will give me much pleasure if you will com 
descend to grace my humble abode on Thursday 
next when Cornelia will be at home to welcome 
and entertain you. If you will come about ten 
o’cloc\ and spend the day with us, we will be 
overjoyed. And we hope that you will bring 
your friends, Mallory and Jane with you. 

Cordially, 

Cynthia Weed. 

She laid the tiny note in Minnie Ida's lap and raced for 
the door again for George and the car were coming into 
the circle of the driveway in front of the house. And 
there was Jane in her bright yellow oilskin waterproof 
making a dash for the shelter of the veranda. 

“News!” cried Mallory, opening the door. “You can't 
guess what!” 

“What?” inquired Jane, shedding her waterproof and 
rubbers. “Did you find anything new up in the attic? 
Have the little robins left the nest yet?” 

But Mallory shook her head mysteriously. “Ask Min- 
nie,” she said. “It’s something nice.” 


CORHELIA OF LOHG AGO 


89 


Of course, seeing Minnie with the letter on her lap, 
Jane at once pounced upon it and read it. “What lots of 
fun,” she said. “But, goodness! To have to wait four 
days! She doesn’t include Baby Edith. I suppose I can 
take her?” 

“I suppose it was because Baby Edith isn’t so awfully 
old,” suggested Mallory. “Cornelia must be over a hum 
dred and Minnie dates back so far that the two probably 
think Baby Edith just a mere infant.” 

“I suppose so.” 

“Come on up to the playhouse in the attic and we’ll 
play. We’ll watch the robins. Mother Robin has to stay 
tight over them to keep them dry. They’ll soon be leaving 
the nest, I dare say. Let’s play house up in our corner of 
the attic.” 

So they ran up there where Jane had started a new 
corner of her own. Today they were busy filling it with 
other pieces of old furniture. Mother had lent a broom 
so that the attic dust could be swept up a little. 

The rain upon the rafters overhead played a tune. It 
was jolly to be so dry and to hear the rain that pounded 
on the roof, now softer and then louder. Even if there 
was no sunlight and the attic was rather dark, yet it was 
cozy and cheerful. 

Mallory had but recently discovered the door of the 
old smokehouse in the great chimney that ran up through 


90 


THE PAHTALETTE DOLL 


the attic. It was a strange, mysterious, smoky closet with 
an iron-faced door. There in olden days, meat had been 
hung to be smoked out. Walnut wood was used to burn 
beneath the closet. 

Today Mallory had to show it to Jane who had never 
even heard of such a thing as a smokehouse in a chimney 
in the attic. But Minnie Ida appeared to know all about 
it. She sat quietly and watched the two for whom the 
day was all too short. 

The great day appointed by Miss Weed to meet Cor¬ 
nelia soon arrived. The weather was unusually sunny and 
fine. Mallory had fairly begged to go to the party in the 
coral silk but Mother had said, “Oh, no dear!” Finally, at 
half past nine, she had dressed Minnie Ida in her best ele¬ 
gant black silk—the appropriate visiting dress for a state 
occasion—her bonnet and the brown brocaded pelisse. 
She herself had put on a pink linen instead of the coral silk. 

George was at the door with the car. They were go¬ 
ing over to call for Jane on the way. Waving goodbye 
to Mother, they promised to be polite and good and re¬ 
member to tell Miss Weed on going home that they had 
had a very delightful day. 

Then Minnie Ida, Mallory, George and the car were 
driving off to get Jane who was waiting upon her porch. 
Baby Edith also wore her best bib and tucker, as Jane 
did her best red and white challie. 


CORHELl a OF LOHG ago 


91 


Miss Weed was waiting. She seemed very happy to 
see Minerva Ida Adams, Mallory, Jane and Baby Edith 
whom she said she had not meant to overlook in the invi- 
tation. When they had all taken off their wraps and 
Minerva's pelisse with Baby Edith's hood had been laid 
beside Mallory's coat and Jane's brown jacket, they all 
trouped into the parlor where Cornelia was sitting in her 
little twig chair, ready to be introduced. 

The piano upon which the chair was placed was a kind 
of ebony throne and Miss Weed said they must excuse 
Cornelia from rising because of her age. Her bones were 
a little brittle with time, she explained, even though she 
seemed quite well if she was treated carefully. 

Cornelia was a small doll, not more than twelve inches 
long. She was dressed in a gay silk dress. She wore a cap 
upon her wooden painted head. Her wooden arms were 
close to her side and the hands rested upon her full silken 
skirt. With bright little eyes much like those of a viva- 
cious old lady, she looked down at Mallory, Jane, Minnie 
and Baby Edith, smiling and happy at the various intro- 
ductions that Miss Weed soberly gave. 

“I think she dates back even as far as colonial days," 
Miss Weed explained to the children. "Isn't she a dear! 
I knew you would enjoy meeting her. She is very anxious 
to talk with Minerva Ida Adams. She has heard about 
Minnie from me but she considers Minnie as just a mere 


92 


THE PAHTALETTE DOLL 


child!” Miss Weed laughed. “Let's leave them together,” 
she suggested. “Here,” and she found a small chair and 
placed it for Minerva. It was an old doll chair, a little 
Boston rocker. 

Minnie Ida bent forward in it as if listening eagerly to 
Cornelia's account of her own young days. Cornelia's 
eyes seemed to twinkle as she told her story, silently as 
dolls must talk to each other. Baby Edith, seated propped 
against a book nearby looked on. She was really too 
young at thirty even to be included in the conversation 
of those two more mature ones. 

With Miss Weed the children ran off to see all the old- 
fashioned things that were waiting to be looked over in 
Miss Weed’s old house. There was the big open fireplace 
that could be all shut up, if desired; the oven at its side; 
the queer horsehair chairs; the funny old clocks with 
painted glass pictures decorating their faces; the pewter 
ware. 

There were the queer lovely tall lamps that were called 
“candle-lamps” and burned a fluid of sperm oil; the candle- 
moulds in which candles were made at home; the old- 
fashioned teacups that had no handles because people 
poured their tea into deep saucers from them and drank 
from the saucers. 

Finally there were old old dresses and bonnets too, mid 
a queer old reticule in which ladies of long ago carried 


CORDELIA OF LOHG AGO 


93 



The dolls have tea 


their sewing when they went to make calls or visits. Miss 
Weed's little house was a veritable museum of the past. 
There was so much to hear about that it was lunch time 
before anybody realised it. 

Minerva, Cornelia and Baby Edith had a wee table 
made from a box. They had old-fashioned teacups to use 
and pewter spoons. And there was old-fashioned china on 
Miss Weed's pretty table. She said she had tried to make 
the same kind of a meal that people long ago might have 
had for their company. 

It seemed quite interesting for everything was laid on 
the table at once and there were so many different kinds 
of food. Jams and preserves, and honey, and cookies, and 
cakes, and a chicken potpie as well as other kinds of pie. 









94 


THE PANT ALETTE DOLL 


It was not at all the kind of meal one would call a com- 
pany luncheon nowadays, but oh, how good everything 
tasted! Mallory and Jane tried drinking from the saucers 
of the old cups but, really it was hard to do it and not 
soil the tablecloth. 

After luncheon, Miss Weed had some old games. 
Among them was one called The Mansion of Happiness. 
The three put it upon a table on the porch and played it. 
It was a very fascinating old game in which everybody 
tried hard to reach The Mansion of Happiness at the cen¬ 
tre of the game-board. 

The children learned the rules of the game which were 
quite simple and rather like parchesi. Then Miss Weed 
thought that Cornelia, Minerva and Baby Edith would 
like to play also. So all played, Mallory making an extra 
play for Minnie; Miss Weed playing for Cornelia, and 
Jane for Baby Edith. It was a long game, and it seemed 
appropriate that Cornelia should win. After this, every¬ 
body went out into the old-fashioned garden where baby 
hyacinths were showing blue amid their leaves and where 
baby’s breath was coming up also in the borders. Snow¬ 
drops had been up a long time ago. Tulips, crocuses, daf¬ 
fodils were beginning to blossom. 

“I have an idea,” said Miss Weed, suddenly. “Em 
very much interested in The Fresh Air Fund, aren’t you?” 

Both Mallory and Jane were. 


95 


CORNELIA OF LONG AGO 

“I’ve been thinking. Why, if you please, shouldn’t 
you and I, all of us, get up a Doll Show this spring? Why 
shouldn’t we exhibit Cornelia, Minerva, Baby Edith and 
other dolls? Why shouldn’t we dress dolls and sell them 
and have a bazaar in connection with the show? And 
why shouldn’t we devote the money to charity? 

“What do you think? Mallory could wear the coral 
silk and Jane could wear a dress we might make like it. 
And there would be an old-fashioned darning-bag for 
grabs. Don’t you think it would be fun? Shall we do 
it?” 

Jane and Mallory declared that they’d just love to do 
it. Each felt that their mothers would highly approve of 
the good idea also. It was agreed that the Exhibition and 
Bazaar of Dolls should take place; moreover, Jane and 
Mallory would each dress some little dolls in old-fashioned 
full skirts and pantalettes. Everybody would help. 

Maybe by June or a bit later there could be a bazaar. 
Then it was hoped there would be quite a lot of money 
to give many little poor city children a splendid happy 
outing in the country. How nice that would be and how 
delighted Minerva, Cornelia and Baby Edith were to help. 

Miss Weed said she would go right to the city and get 
the little dolls to dress. Then the three of them would 
have some long happy times sewing together and plan¬ 
ning other things that would come to pass for the bazaar 
and doll exhibition. 


96 


THE PANT ALETTE DOLL 


There was so much to talk over even now that it was 
a great surprise to find that George had come for Mallory 
and Jane with the car. Minerva could scarcely be torn 
away from her new and devoted friend, Cornelia. But 
everybody promised to come again soon. 

Everybody remembered to tell Miss Weed what a per- 
fectly lovely time they had had; everybody waved from 
the car as it turned to go up the avenue. And nobody 
could wait to tell Mother and Father all about the wonder¬ 
ful plan of the Doll Bazaar and Exhibition that was to be. 




THE DOLL BAZAAR 

Everyone was enthusiastic over the Doll Bazaar. 
Mother and Mrs. Taylor thought it a splendid idea and 
one of the church societies took it up at once when Miss 
Weed proposed the work. Some of the ladies sent to 
New York for toy catalogs to find out about dolls and 
prices of dolls in quantities. 

Mallory and Jane were called upon to tell which ones 
were the nicest for dressing. Everybody was to dress a 
doll and some of the ladies volunteered to take even more. 
There was to be a prize for the best doll exhibited or 
dressed. 

The toy catalogs were full of all kinds of dolls and toys, 
big dressed dolls and little tiny dolls. But none in them 
seemed quite so fascinating to Mallory and Jane as their 
own beloved Minnie Ida and Baby Edith. They played a 
great deal upon the rocks and in the attic while anxiously 
awaiting the shipment from New York. They planned 
how they would dress their little dolls for both just loved 
to sew doll dresses. 

One day Mrs. Taylor and Mother came up into the 
97 


98 THE p ant alette doll 

attic and opened some of the trunks to find delightful 
pieces of silks, ginghams, muslin, and even bits of velvet 
and ribbons that might be used. When these had been 
carefully looked over, some of the pieces were given to 
Mallory and Jane to use for their sewing. 

Besides this, Mother and Mrs. Taylor, Jane and Mab 
lory went to town to buy materials for undergarments, 
scft white nainsook and yards and yards of narrow 
edging, narrow pink ribbon and narrow blue ribbon. 

Then came the day when the church society came over 
to the big white house to get the dolls and to talk things 
over and plan for the bazaar. The big box was opened 
and the dolls were distributed for dressing. Nobody had 
ever seen so many dolls outside of a toyshop before. 

Mallory and Jane were each given six little dolls to 
dress. Some were made of china with arms and legs that 
moved. Some even had eyes that would open and shut. 
Some had fair hair and some had dark hair. Some had 
curls and some had straight bobbed hair. And some, even, 
had just little painted china heads. It was hard to tell 
which were the prettiest. All of them were charming. 

After the society had broken up its meeting and had 
gone off in groups with its dolls, Mallory and Jane took 
their own darlings out to the summer house under the 
cedars at the end of the garden. There they stood them 


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100 


THE PAHT ALETTE DOLL 


up all in a row and planned which way would be the best 
to dress each. Meanwhile Minnie Ida and Baby Edith 
sat on the summerhouse seat and wished that some of the 
remnants of silks and ginghams, the velvets and laces might 
fall to them. 

Miss Weed was going to ask everybody who had an 
old doll to exhibit it; Cornelia and Minerva were to be on 
show too; Baby Edith was to wear her best little white 
dress with pink bows and she was going to be shown too. 
Mallory thought that Minerva Ida Adams had better wear 
her elegant black silk without its embroidered kerchief. 
That was the most dressy thing to wear to such a wonder¬ 
ful social event as The Doll Bazaar. The Great Day had 
been prolonged to three days. The Bazaar was to be 
widely advertised and keep open all that time. 

Mother was making a queer old-fashioned little dress 
for Jane who was to sell flowers. It was a quaint pattern 
of calico with a very very full skirt. As a guide she had 
to borrow the coral silk from Mrs. Taylor, and the funny 
pantalettes as well. The ladies and children who helped 
with the bazaar were to dress in quaint old dresses of 
different periods. It was rumored that Miss Weed was 
to have an imitation doll house for her booth. 

Admission would be ten cents just to go inside the door 
and look at what was there; inside was to be Minerva 
Ida Adams sitting at a doll table with the dinner set. 


THE DOLL BAZAAR 


101 


There was to be the funny little old-fashioned trunk, and 
Miss Weed’s Boston rocker, Cornelia in her twig chair, 
and all the other old dolls that came to be exhibited. Baby 
Edith in her best white dress was to be in there too with 
Miss Weed. 

Everybody who came to the show was to be given a 
blank card in order that upon it they might write the 
number of the doll they thought the very best of all. To 
this doll, there would be given the Big Prise, which was 
to be a gold piece. 

As days passed, Mallory and Jane carried their little 
dolls about in baskets, taking great care not to muss their 
lovely hair. Mother and Mrs. Taylor had to help a lot 
with directing the children’s work. They had their own 
dolls to dress too. They said they felt as if they were 
little girls again, just as they used to be long ago when 
they too had played together upon the rocks. 

Some of the ladies were going to make lampshade dolls 
to sell, some were making rag babies. Miss Weed had 
bought a lot of delightful little trinkets that were to go 
into the grab bag that Mallory was to take charge of. It 
was to be a queer old darning bag. She and Mrs. Taylor 
and Mother, Mallory and Jane wrapped up these little 
toys for the grab bag. 

There were many details to work out for the Bazaar. 
Every day brought it nearer and more exciting as dolls 


102 


THE PAHTALETTE DOLL 


were dressed and admired and carefully put away until 
the event. Mallory liked best to dress her little dolls as 
old-fashioned children in little dresses such as Minerva 
Ida wore; Jane was partial to baby dolls that had white 
dimity dresses and little white bonnets. 

Mother dressed several lady dolls. Mrs. Taylor even 
made some gentlemen with tweed suits but she said they 
were very hard to dress and she was going to put a very 
good price upon them because they had taken so much 
time. 

Jane and Mallory found added fun in naming each as 
the dolls came in, finished. Then numbers were pinned 
to their dresses and the names were written out very care¬ 
fully. Father did this on his typewriter and he even 
named a few dolls though he had to be stopped from 
naming them because he chose such funny names. Mother 
said he could only name rag babies after he called one 
doll M arioroaro Wehod Jin\s. She said it would never 
do to name a lady doll that! 

But the doll was very prim in beribboned spangled 
tulle and Father insisted that the name fitted her. After¬ 
wards when he named some of the rag babies, he was 
just twice as bad and he called one Samuel Sawdust and 
another Mustard Pic\les. He insisted that Mustard 
Pic\les should be that and nobody could coax him to 
change it. 


THE DOLL BAZAAR 


103 



Some dolls father named 


New dolls came in to be named and put away. Some 
of the ladies found they could not possibly finish dressing 
the dolls they had taken. Miss Weed, Mrs. Taylor, 
Mother, Jane and Mallory had to help finish up these 
besides. The eventful time grew nearer and there was 
beginning to be talk about making the booths and trim' 
ming them. 

Also, posters had to be put up. George carried these 
in the car while some of the ladies went with him. Every 
day grew closer to the bazaar's date. Then it arrived. 

The day was beautiful with a clear sunny sky and no- 
body could have imagined a better one. From far and 
near, it was hoped that children and parents, teachers and 
aunts, uncles, cousins—everybody would come to see the 
dolls and to buy them. 


104 


THE PAHT ALETTE DOLL 


By one o'clock Mallory was dressed in the coral silk 
and Jane in the quaint calico. The two hurried into the 
car with Minnie Ida and Baby Edith, together with other 
dolls, and Mother and Mrs. Taylor. 

Everybody was busy arranging their booths with 
streamers and flowers. Miss Weed's little playhouse was 
charming. One had to stoop to go in at its door but that 
was half the fun. It was so small that only two people 
could enter at once. Mallory was to stand just outside 
with her bag of grabs. 

Jane was to go about anywhere she chose with her 
basket of old-fashioned nosegays done up with lace-paper 
collars. The nosegays were prim bunches of charming 
old-fashioned flowers for it was flower time now and gar¬ 
dens had yielded their blossoms. Even Mallory's garden 
up at the big white house had contributed its share of 
flowers. 

By half past two the doors were opened and people be¬ 
gan to arrive. As the half hour passed, more and more 
arrived. Everybody marvelled at the lovely dolls. Even 
the boys who came enjoyed themselves. The grab bag 
flourished; the nosegays sold; and the little dolls that Mal¬ 
lory and Jane had dressed sold very quickly. As for the 
other dolls, Mustard Pic\les was chosen at once. A gen¬ 
tleman bought him. He said he had always been very 
fond of mustard pickles and couldn't resist buying a doll 
by that name. “Impossible to leave it," he laughed. 


THE DOLL BAZAAR 


105 

People began coming in larger numbers at three o clock. 
There began to be quite a crowd at the doors. Mallory 
had to have the grab bag refilled. Miss Weed said she 
had already made ten dollars just from tickets that were 
chances on one old doll that was to be raffled. It was an 
old wax doll with a kid body which had been donated for 
the purpose. 

As everybody went about from booth to booth they 
admired this doll and that, selecting the one they wished 
to buy. They exclaimed delightedly over Mrs. Taylor’s 
gentlemen in the tweed suits. They chuckled happily over 
TsAarioroaro Wehod Jin\s. They bought gingerbread dolls 
and ate them; they bought paper dolls in sheets for ten 
cents each. All were served tea and ice cream, or lemon- 
ade and gingerpop together with dolls made of sticks of 
candy. 

Then everybody crowded about the make-believe play¬ 
house and went in two at a time to see what old-fashioned 
dolls looked like. They said they had never, never seen 
anything like Cornelia outside of a museum; and every¬ 
body said how cunning Baby Edith was. Some people 
said that their mothers had dolls like her but that they had 
never seen any doll quite equal to Minerva Ida Adams. 

Miss Weed was kept busy telling how Mallory had 
found her up in the trunk in the attic of the big white 
house and how the trunk and dinnerset belonged to her 


106 


THE PANT ALETTE DOLL 


also. Then somebody would want to know if she was 
for sale, and mightn't they buy her; and somebody who 
was a collector of antiques became quite excited over her 
and begged to buy her for a fabulous sum. 

But of course dear Minnie Ida Adams was not for sale. 
Nobody ever could or would sell her for she had been 
Great-grandmother's own precious doll. She was a mem¬ 
ber of the Deming family, and to Mallory, she was actu¬ 
ally living and real. 

The crowd grew and grew; more and more came. The 
bazaar was thriving. By half past five Mother came and 
got Mallory and Mrs. Taylor found Jane and the four 
went home. Miss Weed said she would watch out care¬ 
fully for Baby Edith and Minnie Ida and that no collector 
would ever get a chance to carry either one of them away. 

She had sold dozens of tickets for the wax doll. She 
said she thought (but she whispered this in Mallory's ear), 
she wouldn't wonder that Minerva Ida Adams might beat 
Cornelia as a prize winner. It was going to be quite ex¬ 
citing but Miss Weed thought that Minnie was in the 
lead, even though Cornelia was so old and wonderful. 

When Mallory heard this she was simply delighted. 
But she was sorry for Baby Edith who seemed to keep in 
the background. She was sweet, they said when they saw 
her, but as for Minerva Ida Adams: she was the main 
attraction. 


THE DOLL BAZAAR 


107 



That was the first day of the bazaar. It had been a 
huge success and was quite worth all the trouble. Every¬ 
body who had come had said it was the greatest fun ever. 
The gentleman who had bought Mustard Pic\les had sent 
his sister back to ask if they had a twin; he wanted that. 
Did they have Sweet Pic\les? No, they had no Sweet 
Pickles. She bought M arioroaro Wehod Jin\s instead. 

When Mallory and Jane went to bed that night, they 
did not go to sleep for a very long time. There was so 
much to think about. But when finally each fell asleep, 
it was to visit a delightful Doll Land where dolls talked 
as if they were alive and where Minnie Ida Adams had a 
real old-fashioned house and a real party for Mallory and 
Jane with crumpets and cake. 

Jane dreamed of flower gardens where she wheeled 
Baby Edith in a doll carriage and where they made a play 
with red, white, yellow and pink hollyhocks that they 
fashioned into dolls. 


108 THE PAHT ALETTE DOLL 

But, if that first day had been a success, it was as noth' 
ing to the next two days that the Doll Bazaar lasted! From 
far and near, the automobiles came with people to see The 
Show. It seemed that everybody who had a little girl or 
a baby in their family came bringing them to see the dolls. 
Did ever any baby or little girl see a pretty doll without 
begging Father or Mother or Auntie or Uncle to buy it 
for them! 

Moreover, almost always the children got what they 
wanted. As for the boys who came, they surely enjoyed 
it too though, perhaps they appreciated best the grabs, 
the gingerbread dolls, the ice cream booth and the man 
who was dressed like a clown'doll. 

More bouquets again. All were finally sold, Jane an' 
nounced. More grabs needed in the darning bag, Mallory 
declared. And Minnie Ida Adams was still in the lead 
over dear Cornelia as the most wonderful doll exhibited. 
Mallory's heart went pitapat when she heard this each 
time, not because she really needed the gold piece but be' 
cause she did so want Minerva Ida Adams to win. 

Wouldn't that just be splendid! Maybe Father would 
let the gold piece be made into a brooch for Mallory to 
wear always, a souvenir of the Great Event of the Doll 
Show and an honor for Minnie Ida that should be forever 
remembered. 

That was the outcome after all. Miss Weed counted 
the cards herself. It was an exacting task, she declared; 


THE DOLL BAZAAR 


109 



Miss Weed had a real doll's house at the Bazaar 


there were so many of them and one had to be so careful 
not to lose count. She had to get somebody to go over 
all the counts even after she had made them, for one had 
to be quite exact and sure. 

Minerva Ida Adams won by such large majority that 
it was simply unbelievable. No wonder the collector had 
fairly begged to buy her. She was by far the most popu' 
lar doll in the whole show! 9 

When the announcement was made, Miss Weed’s 
brother came and carried off Mallory and Minnie Ida 
Adams and lifted the two to the broad gay surface of one 
of the doll booths. Then the prize was awarded and Mab 
lory’s little heart danced for joy. Everybody applauded 
and said Mallory ought to have a prize too, for the coral 
silk and pantalettes were most unusual! 














no 


THE PAHTALETTE DOLL 


But when Mallory was lifted down from the booth she 
ran right to Jane with the prize in her hand. 

“I, I think it's lovely, Jane," she said, "but Fve been 
thinking. 1'm not going to make the gold piece into a 
brooch. Fm going to spend it, if Mother and Father say 
yes. Fve been thinking about it; we all worked so hard 
for the bazaar, you and Miss Weed, Mother, and your 
mother, and everybody. Fm going to have a party with 
the prize. It'll be Minnie Ida's party and you and Baby 
Edith will come; and the little girl who won the raffle and 
got the old wax doll, and Miss Weed and everybody!” 

Jane smiled. "It's ever so lovely to do that, Mallory," 
she sighed happily. "But I think you ought to keep it." 

"I'd like to share it," Mallory returned, "and that way 
I can." 

When Miss Weed, Mother, Mrs. Taylor, Jane, Baby 
Edith, Mallory, Minnie Ida, and George were all in the 
automobile being driven back to the various homes where 
they lived, all agreed what a splendid success the Doll 
Exhibition was. They said how fine it was that every¬ 
thing had sold so well. They were delighted that there 
was such a profit over all the expenses incurred and joy¬ 
ous over the big check that was to go to The Fresh Air 
Fund. 

Then Mallory told about her plan for Minnie Ida 
Adams' party and asked if Mother would please say yes 


THE DOLL BAZAAR 


111 


Mother did! She proposed that they should have a picnic 
at the beach. It was just like her to think of such a plan. 

Excursion boats came up from the city to a nearby 
grove where there was also a stretch of sandy beach and 
a cluster of rocks. This would be ideal for the picnic 
party. As for the guests, what did Mallory say to asking 
some real Fresh Air children up from the city to the 
picnic? 

The very thing. Mallory would send the gold piece 
down to the city and tell the people there to send up as 
many little poor city children as the money would bring 
upon the excursion steamer. Those who had helped with 
the Doll Show would help with the picnic. Mallory 
hugged Jane and Jane hugged Mallory. Both fairly 
squealed with joy in anticipation of the plan. It should 
be arranged after the Fourth of July sometime and as soon 
as possible, of course. 

The automobile stopped at Miss Weed’s to leave her 
at home with her precious Cornelia. Then they had to 
take Jane and Mother home with Baby Edith. It was a 
very sleepy, happy little Mallory that undressed dear 
Minnie Ida a half hour later and laid her in the wooden 
cradle up in the attic playhouse for the night. 

When she had kissed her, she tucked her up and left 
her, going slowly down the attic stairs in the long twilight 
of summertime. The robins had long ago flown away 


112 


THE PAHT ALETTE DOLL 


from the nest at the head of the stairs. It was time to go 
to sleep. Mallory went to kiss Father goodnight and to 
be congratulated by him and to give Mother her good' 
night hug. It had all been perfect. 

Now there was to be a picnic: why, Minnie Ida Adams 
had probably never seen a real picnic. It was one of the 
things that must have happened since her time. Well, 
Minerva Ida Adams should surely go to this picnic and 
find out what fun picnics really were; at the beach, there 
were merry'go'rounds, and a circle'swing, and a roller 
coaster! 

The bazaar had cleared five hundred dollars! Mallory 
herself had made $26.15 with grabs; Jane, $22.50 with the 
flowers! 




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CHAPTER 50U: % X 

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THE PICNIC 

The bazaar money was sent to The Fresh Air Fund. 
With it went the invitation for the Roton Point Picnic 
and the request that the society send upon the excursion 
boat as many little children as the prise gold piece would 
bring up to the beach. They were to spend a happy day 
outdoors upon the sands as guests of Mallory. 

The society wrote back that they wanted to thank all 
those who had contributed through the basaar to the 
Fresh Air Fund and that they much appreciated the gem 
erous gift as well as the invitation for the children’s picnic. 
They wrote that they would send up forty children and 
two ladies with them and that they would come up to 
Roton Point upon The Serins which was booked for an 
excursion on the thirteenth of July. 

Later the date had to be changed to the end of the 
month as one of the ladies had been called out of town 
to take away another party of children for a ten-day va¬ 
cation on a farm. 

Mallory and Jane found it hard to wait. Yet there was 
always the picnic to talk about. And there was always 
in 


114 


THE PAHT ALETTE DOLL 


the picnic to plan for; what games might be played, also 
what everybody might take. The two went daily to bathe 
at The Country Club, and Baby Edith and Minnie Ida 
went with them. The two dolls had to stay in the car 
with George since bath houses were wet and it was only 
a precaution not to spot Minnie Ida's elegant black silk 
which was still her going-out dress. Minnie Ida had, of 
course, never known such a place as a country club in her 
days. At that time the Sewing Society which met around 
at its members' houses and made a quilt for the parson's 
donation party was the most important form of recrea- 
tion that there was, aside perhaps from a sailing party on 
the water. 

Minnie Ida no doubt enjoyed the time she spent watch¬ 
ing the people at The Country Club, sitting with Baby 
Edith upon the back seat of the car while George read a 
magazine and waited for the children to have their swim. 
Sometimes, after the two were dressed again, Minnie Ida 
would go and sit on the warm sands with them for a 
while under a gay Japanese umbrella. 

Everybody knew Minerva Ida Adams and found her 
quaint and interesting. Most of them had heard of her 
having taken the prize at the Doll Bazaar which they 
knew she was going to give for a picnic for the little poor 
children in the city. 

Often when people came to speak with Miss Adams 


THE PICNIC 


115 



Donations for the picnic 


sitting with Jane, and Mallory, 
and Baby Edith under the big 
gay Japanese umbrella, they 
asked her if they might not com 
tribute something to her picnic 
fund by way of candy or ice 
cream; or some money for the 
poor children to ride upon the 
merry'go-round, or circle' 
swing, or roller coaster. Or, 
perhaps, might she not like to buy them peanuts or tin 
pails or shovels to use for sand play? 

Somebody was always suggesting something like this 
to dear Miss Adams. And Miss Adams always welcomed 
it with gratitude and polite thanks. She wore a little bag 
that Mallory had crocheted and in this was a little purse 
that had once belonged to Mallory. Father kept the 
money for Mallory. Evenings, he jotted it down in a 
little book. It looked very businesslike as a record: 

Mrs. Wilson, for merry'gO'round rides.$5.00 

Miss Annie James, for peanut bags. 3.00 

Benda Wade, for lollipops. 1.00 

Mr. George Sniffin, for “anything”. 4.00 

Mr. Muns, for seven quarts of ice'cream. 4.50 

Miss Winnie Means, for circle'swing rides- 5.00 

Meanwhile, the days rapidly passed with many good 







116 


THE P AMT ALETTE DOLL 


times. The attic was rather too warm for play except on 
rainy days. These came but seldom in July except after 
heavy storms. Yet Jane and Mallory, Baby Edith and 
dear Minnie Ida Adams played upon the rocks and in the 
garden. And mostly, they played house, as usual. The 
toy'box had never been found at all; it had just gone and 
nobody knew where. Father had recovered fifteen dob 
lars for its loss. The movers had paid that. 

Mallory was at the time so tremendously interested in 
the bazaar that she had wanted to buy the grabs for the 
grab bag with it. So Father had consented. 

There was no need to have toy furniture when there 
was that happy playhouse up under the eaves by the win- 
dow that looked off over the lawn. The wooden cradle 
was a most delightful resting place for Minnie Ida at 
night. Always, Mallory undressed her and laid her in 
there. She never forgot, nor was she ever too sleepy to 
undress Minnie and put her to bed. 

Sometimes, if it was too warm up in the attic, Minnie 
would sleep downstairs with Mallory; sometimes, too, she 
would go over with Mallory to spend the night at Jane's. 
And then she had a most wonderful white-enamel doll 
bed to use while Baby Edith slept upon an improvised 
pillow. 

Really, as days went by, one could almost feel that 
Minerva Ida Adams was getting more and more modern. 


the pichic 117 

If she still preferred the attic with its old'fashioned furni' 
ture, yet it seemed she did not protest when modern things 
came her way. 

But she often saw the humor of it all. As one looked 
at her, there would be a light in her dark eyes and a faint 
curve of polite smile suppressed. Minnie 
Ida never laughed at people or things 
that were not those to which she had 
been accustomed. Her behavior was 
always sincerely polite and always con¬ 
siderate for the feelings of others who 
might not look at things as she had been 
taught to when she was still a young 
doll. 

Perhaps that was one reason why 
everybody was so truly fond of Minnie moZrTdM k m JXew 
Ida Adams: she was always quiet but 
always a real friend. If Mallory ever was naughty, she 
might read disapproval of disobedience or pained gnev- 
ance at bad behavior in dear Minnie Ida’s brown eyes 
though with it there was always a shining light of love 
that said: “I love you, Mallory, even though you were 
naughty; I know you truly want to do right. Kiss me and 
we will stand together and be truly good. I am all yours.” 

It was strange that all this should be so—yet it was. 
Minnie Ida did not seem like a mere doll. She seemed 





118 


THE PAHT ALETTE DOLL 


like a person. She was a person to Jane and Mallory. In 
fact she often seemed alive to Father and Mother though 
they smiled about it. They always played up to the part 
that Mallory and Jane took. 

When it drew near the time for the picnic at the 
beach, Minnie Ida Adams asserted herself too. It was 
more than evident that she had fully set her heart upon 
wearing the best elegant black silk to the picnic party. 
And, of course, her calico wrapper was not at all the 
thing. The blue wool Minnie declared to be much too 
warm. No, there was only the black silk to wear. 

“You should make her a dress, 1 ’ Jane suggested. “She 
really ought not to wear her best dress. She ought not 
to- 11 

“Well, what shall I make?” asked Mallory. Somehow, 
nothing so well fitted Minnie Ida as her elegant best black 
silk. One could see she felt badly at not being allowed 
to wear it. 

But as Jane was going to have a new pink gingham 
made for the eventful day, and as Mallory was having 
her pongee made over and lengthened, it seemed only 
right that something should be made for Minnie Ida that 
should especially fit the great occasion. 

Jane had decided against taking Baby Edith. She was 
afraid that the little poor children would want to make 
her talk too much: Baby Edith’s inside talking gear had 



119 


THE PICNIC 

lasted wonderfully for thirty years—“Think of Mother’s 
having her and then my getting her to play with too,” 
Jane would say. “I have to be careful. I’m terribly 
afraid the elastics on her are getting bad. And if so, she 
will have to go to the doll hospital and be restrung. If 
all those children wanted to keep on hearing her say 
‘Mama’ and ‘Papa’ it would be hard for her to refuse. I 
might break her.” 

It did seem a wise thing to leave Baby Edith at home 
and Mother even believed it would be better were Mah 
lory to leave Minnie Ida at home too. “There’ll be so 
much going on,” Mother urged. “You won’t want to 
bother with a doll, dear!” 

But Mallory almost cried. “Why, Mother,” she pro- 
tested. “It’s her party. It all came from her prize; and 
she never has seen a merry-go-round, or a circle-swing, 
or a roller-coaster!” 

“Deary, maybe she would be happier to stay home: she 
might not approve of such frivolous things!” Mother 
laughed. 

“She does,” protested Mallory. “She likes new things, 
Mother. She isn’t half as old-fashioned and set in her 
ways as you think. She wants to go and see things. Be¬ 
sides that, it’s really all her doings. If she hadn’t been in 
the attic that day, Miss Weed would not have seen her; 
if Miss Weed had not seen her, Cornelia would not have 


120 


THE PAHT ALETTE DOLL 


asked us over; if Cornelia had not asked us over, there 
probably would have been no Doll Bazaar for The Fresh 
Air Fund; if there had been no bazaar, there would have 
been no prize and if there had been no prize, there would 
have been no picnic! It's her picnic. I want to take her." 

There was no disputing it. Mother even had to admit 
that Minerva Ida Adams seemed to like modern things 
and might like the thrill of a dip in the roller-coaster even 
though Mother did not herself approve of roller-coasters 
at all. And Mother also said that merry-go-round cal¬ 
liope music was the noisiest music possible. Mallory 
said Mother was the one who was old-fashioned. Mother 
replied that she no doubt was but anyway, she said if 
Minnie wanted to go and see and hear, she should. 

Moreover, Mother gave Mallory a whole yard of pretty 
sprigged muslin to make Minnie a dress for the picnic. 
It had moss-rosebuds printed upon it and seemed the 
very thing. Mother helped Mallory to make a dress that 
was halfway between yesterday and today, feeling that 
dear Minnie, in the environment of circle-swings and 
merry-go-rounds would like to feel at home. 

It was made long like Minnie’s other dresses to cover 
her long pantalettes. It had a very full skirt that seemed 
in style. But it did not have modern bloomers or long 
straight waist; it was conservative like Minerva Ida Adams 
herself. It had a high neck and long sleeves. And Mai- 


THE PICNIC 


121 


lory tied a chain of beads around Minnie’s neck. She 
looked almost modern. Jane said she hardly knew her. 

However, Mallory was not so much concerned, now 
the dress was made. All was well. There was only the 
general plan of the picnic party to think about now. The 
children were to arrive from the city about noon and 
were to be met at the pier. That seemed all settled. They 
were not to come unless the day was a good day. Were 
it stormy or rainy, it would be postponed to the very next 
and, were there doubt, the society would telegraph. 

From the boat, the children should be taken to the 
grove and those who wished might then go in bathing or 
wading. Miss Weed, Mrs. Taylor and Mother would be 
on the watch. The gentleman who had bought Mustard 
Pickles at the Bazaar, having heard of the picnic, offered 
his services to watch out for the boys and said he would 
be glad to conduct some outdoor sports. Besides this, he 
gave generously to Miss Adams’ little purse and increased 
the fund for the merry-go-round. 

There were plain cakes, sandwiches, bananas, ginger 
cookies, and no end of good things that one might eat 
without suffering a stomach ache after. Everybody was 
to have ice-cream, not just a little cone but a big-sized 
saucerful! 

The picnic was to be laid upon a table in the grove and 
Mallory and Jane had selected the fancy paper napkins 


122 


THE P AMT ALETTE DOLL 


that had pictures of boats and fish and shells printed in 
gay colors. There were paper plates too; and everybody 
was to have a big paper cup of milk to drink. 

After the picnic, the little ones were to have a quiet 
nap but the older ones were to go on the merry-go-round, 
the circle-swing, the roller-coaster. Afterwards, the little 
ones were to be taken while Mr. The-Gentleraan-Who- 
Bought'Mustard'Pic\les for his little four-year old son, 
was to conduct the outdoor sports. For prizes, Mallory 
and Jane bought little souvenirs of the beach. They were 
just little things that boys and girls would like. Some were 
just small boxes of candy. 

The day before the picnic it poured! It poured so hard 
that Jane could not come over and Mallory had to spend 
the morning up under the eaves in the attic playhouse all 
alone. She had only the companioship of dear Minnie Ida 
Adams who sat in a chair facing the little window and 
looked dolefully out of the nearest pane of glass, gazing 
upon a wet, wet landscape that had no need at all of a 
fountain. The gravel walks were like brooks running be¬ 
tween the shores of green lawn that bordered them! Sup¬ 
posing that tomorrow were such a day? 

Mallory tried to paint. She dipped a brush into the 
color-box that lay on the table and tried to paint a paper 
doll's dress. But, invariably, her eyes left the paper-doll's 
dress and went with her thoughts outdoors. She searched 
the leaden skies for a trace of letup. There was none. 


THE PICNIC 


123 



Down upon the attic roof came the thud'thud'thud of 
sweeping rain torrents. Usually, Mallory liked to be up 
there safely out of the rain, yet very much in it because 
of its noisy talk. Today, she longed to have the clatter 
upon the roof above her stop short. But it did not. 

The day was a long one—even though about four 
Mother brought up a tray and she and Mallory, and 
Minnie Ida had tea. Instead of tea for Mallory there 
was cambric tea. Minnie Ida had that also. And the 
three nibbled bread and butter cut into thin slices, cookies 
and salted nuts. 

Then, as the rain was making the attic really gloomy 
—Mother took Mallory and Minnie Ida downstairs and 
read aloud a good storybook till time to dress for dinner. 






























124 


THE PAHT ALETTE DOLL 


Mother was most comforting; she said she somehow felt 
sure it would be a clear day tomorrow because the skies 
simply wouldn’t have any rain at all left after such a very 
rainy day as this! 

At night when Jane looked from her little bedroom 
window it seemed unpromising. And when Mallory stood 
at her own, the darkness and the rain in the garden looked 
as if the skies might hold plenty more to come. She lay 
awake listening for a long time. Then, finally, she fell 
asleep. It was still to the patter-patter of raindrops that 
she drowsed off into dreamland. 

But when she woke: ah, there was a day such as comes 
rarely. It was just exactly the right kind; clear, without 
wind, and yet a fine little soft breeze. The sky showed 
not a trace of a cloud that could possibly turn into a 
thunderhead. If Mallory had ordered the day for Minnie 
Ida’s picnic, she could not have received a more perfect 
day. Oh joy! 

Such a warble of song as came from the bathroom while 
Mallory dressed. Even the loud running of the bath 
faucet could not drown it. Yes, Mallory was happy, very 
happy. Breakfast was a mere incident. Then came the 
basket-packing and George carried all the things down to 
the beach. Jane arrived, also Miss Weed and the gentle- 
man who had bought Mustard Pic\les. He had an older 
little boy with him. His name was Bobby. But Bobby 


THE PICHIC 


125 


was shy towards little girls and he clung to his father. 
Mallory and Jane did their best; he would not even speak 
to Minnie Ida Adams but turned his back. He said he 
did not play dolls. 

Finally, it was eleven and George came back with the 
car. And Mrs. Taylor, Mother, Miss Weed, Mallory, 
Jane and Minnie Ida all climbed into the car. The gentle¬ 
man and Father and the little boy who didn't like dolls 
went in another car. 

They were off! The picnic had started. Upon the boat 
plying up the Sound there were forty expectant little 
Fresh Air children coming toward Roton Point Grove— 
Chug'chug'chug! The steamer's wheel plunged through 
Long Island Sound and left a trail of white wake behind. 

Meanwhile the two cars sped over the smooth macadam 
toward the beach. Up hill they went, around the curve 
by the powerhouse, and on to the salt meadows which 
showed vivid green beside the marshes where the tide was 
slowly lapping its way. 

As they reached Roton Point Pleasure Park, in the dim 
distance Mallory and Jane spied just a faint trail of smoke 
upon the horizon, far away. It was the boat! But how 
surprisingly fast it came! On board the forty little chib 
dren—to say nothing of the rest of the crowd—strained 
their eyes toward the shore. “There it is, they cried. 
“That's it—over there!" 


126 


THE PA^T ALETTE DOLL 


Almost before one could realize it, the steamer Serius 
was tooting and the men on the wharf were getting ready 
the ropes. And Mallory and Jane were jumping up and 
down because they simply could not keep still. Minnie 
Ida Adams, in Mallory's arms, was forced to jump up and 
down too; she was probably so excited that she didn't 
know what was happening any more than Mallory did. 

Then the gang-plank was put in place and the very first 
thing forty boys and girls from the Fresh Air Society 
soberly followed their two lady conductors upon shore. 
But if they did not dance for joy, it was only because they 
were upon their very best behavior. No sooner had they 
shaken hands than they just fairly set up a cheer and 
rushed pell-mell toward the grove while everybody ran 
with them, talking as fast as possible and trying to keep up. 



XXSCXJ 

:xxxxx 



THE CALAMITY 

The steamer Serins carried an unusually large excursion 
that day. 

With the children came others who had bought regU" 
lar excursion tickets as had the Society for the Fresh Air 
Children. There were mothers with very tiny babies and 
oh, ever so many toddlers. As one looked, one marveled 
that one mother could keep track of so many small children 
all at once. But their eyes shone and they made for the sun 
upon the beach where, very soon, everybody was digging 
holes in the sand, everybody who could dig! 

All the babies merely cooed and had to be stopped 
from trying to put sand into their mouths or prevented 
from swallowing clamshells. The safest thing was for them 
to sit upon ample laps under beach shelters while the tod" 
dlers gabbled delightedly and picked up gay pebbles that 
the tide had made into bright jewels. 

As for Mallory and Minnie Ida's party of youngsters, 
the boys soon were off to the bathing pavilion to rush into 
127 


128 


THE PAHTALETTE DOLL 


bathing suits. The boys paid no attention at all to Minerva 
Ida Adams. It was to be doubted if they really saw her at 
all for there were so many other things that were fairly 
screaming for attention—the boats, the beach, the peanut' 
stands and the booths where one could shoot or watch 
others take aim at dolls. “I didn't know 'twas going to be 
like this! Snookie, come on quick! Here's your ticket for 
the bathhouse and don't you lose it. They won't be hand' 
ing out any more!" 

The boys were gone in a flash of joy as soon as Mallory 
had handed out the tickets, standing beside Mother 
with Minnie Ida under her arm. Mallory just couldn't 
make Minnie Ida give out the tickets as she had carefully 
planned: the doll was in the way. But still Mallory clung 
to her, running to the group of girls already occupied with 
the playground slide. 

“Anybody here want to go in bathing?" Mallory in' 
quired, handing Minnie over to Jane. “It's my doll's 
party, you know. It's my doll who started it." 

But the girls had no thought of dolls: to them in the 
new wonders of the slide and bathhouse tickets, Minerva 
Ida Adams simply did not exist at all. If they saw her, 
they forgot at once. To them, it was Mallory's picnic. 
They had greeted her; they had shaken hands and told 
her their names; they thanked her for the tickets and 
Mallory's doll passed immediately from their memory. 


THE CALAMITY 


129 



The steamer Serius 


Yet, Minnie Ida did not mind. She was surely glad 
that the children were having the time of their lives. She 
did not want to go down the playground slide for then 
she would have endangered the new sprigged muslin and 
shown far too much of pantalettes to have been proper. 
To slide down a playground slide you must wear bloomers 
and be a little girl in a stout gingham dress! 

So Mother said she would take Minnie Ida with her 
and that Minnie Ida would doubtless prefer to remain 
under the shade of the trees with Miss Weed. It gave 
Mallory a chance to play with the little girls who did not 
care to use the bathhouse tickets at once. 

She and Jane soon asked their names. There was Carrie 
Palinski and Mamie Fifer. There was Gertrude Sniffin, 
Helen Sniffin, Minna Sniffin. There was Emma Gluck- 
stein and Rosalie Gluckstein. There was poor thin little 
Sadie Parillo who surely looked as if the outdoor sunshine 
of the beach would do her a world of good. 






130 


THE PAHT ALETTE DOLL 


Sadie lived in a tenement down in lower New York on 
the East Side. She was just getting well from something 
and had been in the hospital a long time; but now she was 
ever so much better. l Tm glad I could come here ,’ 1 she 
beamed, laughing with sad little dark-circled eyes into 
Mallory's own happy blue eyes. "It isn't like playing in 
the street. My, but I wish we could stay here in the 
country forever!" 

Although Mallory learned all the names and thought 
she remembered them, at once she forgot them. All she 
could remember was Sadie's queer name and Mamie Fifer. 
She called them "you" and got on famously that way at 
first. Little girls don't need to know other little girls' 
names when they play puss-in-the-corner or wade along 
the shore with skirts pinned up high with safety-pins and 
get their bloomers wet with water that comes most unex¬ 
pectedly to splash them. 

From the water came joyous shouts as Aron Isaacs 
plunged head first into the blue water to show how well 
he could swim. Angelo Parillo watched, dipping his feet 
in the safe shallow waters and then he ducked gloriously 
when he pretended to swim. And Abram Gluckstein 
called out: "Watch me, boys. I'll do a stunt!" And he 
proceeded to splash like a churning paddle wheel and do 
nothing worth watching at all. 

The other boys just laughed at him and joked happily, 


THE C AL AMITY 


131 



Some of the children went wading 


crying: “That isn’t anything. We can do that in the city 
when the hose is turned on in the street for us down in 
the city! Why don’t you swim? Say, Abram, let’s see 
you stay under. Watch me stay under. I can keep my 
eyes open. You can’t!” So it went. The boys were ex- 
ceedingly happy, grinning, cheering, splashing, swimming, 
basking in the glare of the warm summer sun on the hot 
sands, sunning their white skins in a desire to “get some 
tan.” 

Meanwhile Mrs. Taylor and Mother, Miss Weed and 
Mallory began to think that it was getting near to lunch 
time. Jane and Mallory came back to the grove to be 
unpinned and to help. Their dresses were mussed, their 
hair was ruffed up by wind and their faces and hands were 
sandy. 

Hurriedly they put on stockings and shoes for they 
were very anxious to arrange the plates and help with the 
picnic party. Miss Weed had to go and tell the Mustard 


132 


THE PANT ALETTE DOLL 


Pickle gentleman to call the boys in out of the water. 
Mallory never could seem to remember his name though 
it was only Mr. Williamson. 

Although the boys didn’t want to come out of the water 
they finally did, calling: “Eats! Come on and get into 
your clothes. The scoutmaster’s calling!” And twenty 
reluctant boys went padding along the bathhouse planks 
dripping as they went, or lingered under the shower, or 
carried pails of water in which to dabble sandy feet. 

The girls who had ventured out as far as their depth 
would permit turned toward the bathhouse too, saying: 
“My, I’m hungry, aren’t you? Don’t you hope the merry- 
go-round’ll start soon? I can hardly wait to go on that 
roller-coaster, can you? It’s just like what I saw in Coney 
when I was taken on a Sunday School party.” 

Mallory hurried with the plates and Jane with the 
napkins. There were the other things to put upon tables 
also; sandwiches, olives, cold meat, hardboiled eggs, paper 
cups, cake, fruit. Miss Weed, Mrs. Taylor and Mother 
were ever so busy bringing packages out of hampers. The 
two ladies who had come with the party of children ran 
off to hasten the dressing. The stray children from the 
further rocks who had not gone in bathing were still 
paddling about in search of clam shells. “Look what 
I found!” called one little girl, holding up & horseshoe 
crab by its long pointed tail. “I am going to take it 


THE CALAMITY 


133 

home to my brother. Do we have to go and eat? Seems 
as if we’d just come.” 

But they went. In a body they descended upon the 
tables under the trees in the grove. Their eyes danced at 
the sight of so many many good things spread out. “Can I 
help you to pass around things?” they volunteered. “Let 
me carry that pail. Oh, my, it’s lemonade!” 

Mr. Williamson laughed; Miss Weed laughed; Mother 
and Mrs. Taylor laughed; Jane and Mallory laughed; the 
Parillos laughed; the Glucksteins laughed joyously. Every' 
body finally sat down and proceeded to do full justice to 
the good food. 

When the icecream came, Isaac disgraced the fellows 
because he actually scraped his saucer after a second help- 
ing. Mamie Fifer had to get up and run around the table 
in order to eat more cake. And the little girl who had 
saved the horseshoe crab for her brother did up a slice of 
chocolate layer cake to carry home to her brother. And 
when Mother heard about it, she said not to save the 
cake for she would fix up a box to go home to Jimmie. 

Just then the merry'go'round’s calliope started to toot. 
Forty heads turned toward it and looked back at the two 
ladies who had charge of them. Mother said: 

“But ought they to go on it so soon after eating?” 

Miss Brown replied, “I think it’s all right.” 

The merry'gO'round was at that very minute going to 


134 


THE PAHTALETTE DOLL 


start again. “Whee— Come along! Oh, my, I'm a-going 
to ride the lion ! 11 

“That's no lion. That's a tiger! Don't you know a 
tiger, you simpleton!" 

The children were falling wildly over the big wooden 
animals. “I got here first, Abram! That's my horse! Go 
get another yourself. There's a white one!" 

The horses were all taken; the lions and the tigers were 
filled with riders; the little girls overflowed into gilded 
chariots; Sadie Parillo asked to be strapped upon a talk 
necked giraffe. “He has a skyscraper neck," she giggled 
as the strap was fastened by Mr. Williamson. “Please, 
what's his name? I never saw such an animal but I went 
to Central Park once." 

She clung tightly to the yellow giraffe's neck and de- 
dared that she wouldn't get dizzy. She could not be 
induced to get into a chariot. Mallory and Jane on camels 
flourished their swords ready to catch the brass ring, if 
possible. “Tootle-te-tumdoodledee," sang the calliope 
and around went the forty children with Mallory and Jane. 
Mr. Williamson would not leave Sadie Parillo because he 
was afraid of Sadie's getting suddenly dizzy. “Tootled 
tootle'tee'tumde'doo," sang the calliope and the forty 
whizzed past the brass ring in its wooden slot. Ah, Isaac 
got it! Another ride for Isaac! Great! 

Some lingered to watch. There would be other rides 



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THE CALAMITY 


135 


as everybody had four tickets. But Isaac took another 
on the brass ring and Sadie Parillo tried a gallant black 
charger with flowing mane. Mr. Williamson stood near 
by and his little boy who did not play dolls was mounted 
on a green dragon. Ou-o! Tootle-te-too-toodle-dum-dee! 
They were started again, Sadie Parillo so bold as to try 
for the brass ring. 

Where was dear Minerva Ida Adams who should have 
been there? Had Mallory actually forgotten? She felt 
a traitor for surely she had not once remembered dear 
Minnie since the time that she had given her into Mother’s 
charge. "Oh, Jane,” she gasped as they went down the 
roller-coaster with a swoop and a dive, "I haven’t brought 
my Minnie Ida!” 

"I forgot her,” gasped Jane as the roller-coaster went 
scudding around a curve and slid toward its home goal. 

"I had getter get her,” suggested Mallory. 

"You might drop her out,” cautioned Jane. "You have 
to hang on tight.” 

"Oh, dear! Well, we’ll play she has been on,” Mallory 
decided, ready to play anything that was pretend and more 
than ready to try another dive upon the Dip-the-Dip. 
Some of the boys were off for the circle-swing and the 
shooting-gallery. Some of the girls were standing around 
the booths where big gaudy Kewpie dolls were prises for 
hitting ten wooden pins. "My! Wish I had one! 


136 


THE P AMT ALETTE DOLL 


But Minnie Ida's tastes were evidently old-fashioned 
for she liked the quiet of the shady grove and stayed with 
Mrs. Taylor, Mother, and Miss Weed. They were pack¬ 
ing up the left-overs so that they might be carried back by 
the boat when it returned with the children to the city. 
It went back at four. As yet nobody thought of going 
back. There were still the booths to visit, popcorn and 
peanuts and icecream cones to eat. 

Everybody was busy using up tickets. The boys and 
girls who were trying the outdoor sports under Mr. Wil¬ 
liamson's supervision were awaiting the signal to start the 
potato-race! “One! Two! Three—and go!" The potato 
race was going, potatoes falling out of arms that tried to 
hold them. There was the winner. Isaac got there first! 
His prise was a tin horn that he at once began to blow 
vigorously. 

Next Gertrude and Minnie Sniffin won the girls’ two- 
legged race and each received a big brilliant Kewpie doll 
■—one purple and one yellow. They were wonderful to 
carry home even though they didn't play dolls. 

It reminded Mallory that Minnie Ida must see the sports, 
at least. She stood with her on the edge of the crowd— 
but, of course, nobody noticed the queer old doll for every¬ 
body was intent on seeing who would win the hundred- 
yard dash. 

The sports came to an end with everybody very happy 


THE CALAMITY 


137 


and warm. It was well to go after the ice cream cones and 
cool off. The littlest children drifted to the beach to dig 
with bright red and blue sand pails and tin shovels. The 
boys disappeared to watch the men fishing on the pier and 
to use their boat tickets under Mr. Williamson s charge. 
The ladies watched the children in the playground to see 
that they did not get hurt or swing too high in the swings. 
Mother and Mrs. Taylor sat chatting with them under 
the trees in the grove and the girls thought they would like 
to find some shells to carry home. So Mallory and Jane 
ran after them with dear Minnie. 

The girls were far ahead, though. It was much too hot 
to run. “We can't catch up," Jane said. “Oh, dear!" 

“You know, Jane, nobody ever noticed Minnie," said 
Mallory. “They were all so busy I don't think one of them 
really saw her!" 

“But she saw them," answered Jane. “And I know they 
were having such a wonderful time that they couldnt 
think of anything else! How could they? Probably they 
never were at any beach but Coney Island. I m glad they 
had the picnic. They'll surely talk of nothing else for a 
long time." 

“Yes," nodded Mallory, “I'm glad we had the picnic. 
Let's follow the girls over to the rocks there." They ran 
along the rim of the water where the tide was now begin- 
ning to go out. The ripples caught at their sandals and 


138 


■THE PANT ALETTE DOLL 


wet the soles. There was a cool sea breeze that had 
sprung up. 

How fast the time went. They had hardly gone a very 
little way when Mother called to them not to go too far 
as it was getting near half past three. The ladies called 
also to ask that they would tell the girls to come back to 
the grove in ten minutes. They waved, "Yes.” 

Right then the two came upon the little Parillo girl who 
was building a sand castle. She and one of the Gluckstein 
girls were just sitting there. They were near the rocks 
where the sun made a pleasant shade. Mallory sat down 
and Jane too. They watched the building. Mallory put 
dear Minnie upon a rock where she might rest. 

Not far off was one of the women who had come upon 
the Benefit Excursion upon The Serins. She had a baby 
girl of about four and a little baby boy even smaller. And 
she even carried a baby in her arms. The children seemed 
fretful and tired. There was another woman with other 
little ones close by. Their conversation drifted toward 
Mallory and Jane. 

"Wish’d I had something to keep the young ones from 
crying,” said one. "Spent all the money I brought. Have 
just carfare when we get home. My little girl wanted one 
of the Kewpie dolls. But I can’t buy it.” 

"Sorry,” answered the other. "I spent mine on the 
chances or I would lend you the money.” 


THE CALAMITY 


139 


Meanwhile Jane and Mallory, forgetting the promise 
to Mother which they had meant to remember, built a 
foundation for a rival sand'castle to that of the little 
Parillo girl and the little Gluckstein girl. 

What was that? Too'toot'toooo! The whistle of The 
Serins! Mallory suddenly remembered. She jumped to 
her feet. “Oh, Jane—run and tell the girls!” she called. 
“They're 'way off there!" 

But Jane was running as hard as she could go and was 
ahead. They forgot all about Minnie Ida! Anyway, she 
would be all right, Mallory suddenly considered, but could 
not stop. She and Jane must get to the girls and head them 
homeward to the grove without delay. 

The group of girls had divided into two sections. Jane 
ran toward one and Mallory to the other. As they reached 
there, the second boat whistle came. “Quick! Quick! 
Run for the grove," shouted Mallory and Jane to their 
charges. “There's no time to lose! It's the second whistle. 
The boat’s going!" 

Picking up their treasures, the girls darted ahead pelh 
mell to the grove. Mallory and Jane followed. They 
came to the rocks. Mallory went to pick up Minnie but 
Minerva Ida Adams was not there at all! The two how 
ered around for a moment searching; she had been there! 
She was gone, gone! There was no use to hunt any more. 
Some boys were playing near. They said they hadn t seen 
any doll, just a little girl with a big Kewpie doll. 


140 


THE PANT ALETTE DOLL 



Minerva Ida A dams was gone 


“It wasn't a Kewpie." Mallory began to cry. But Jane 
urged her on the way to the grove. “We'll find her," Jane 
insisted, ready for tears herself. 

When they reached the grove, Mother had not seen 
her but she said she felt sure all would be well. She urged 
Mallory to keep the tears back. “You can tell the chih 
dren," she said. “Tell them to look on the boat. Perhaps 
someone picked her up thinking she did not belong to any- 
body. If she is on the boat, you'll get her back. She may 
be here in the grove or turned in at the Lost and Found 
room in the pavilion." 

So Jane and Mallory ran hither and thither telling the 
girls and the boys. They said they'd be sure to watch out 
and find her if she were carried upon the boat by anybody. 
But none of them remembered at all what Minnie Ida was 





THE CALAMITY 


141 


like for they had never really noticed her. They had been 
thinking of many other things when in the grove. 

Hurriedly the ladies gathered together their charges. 
Everybody said what a grand time they had had. Every- 
body thanked the entertainers heartily. All grasped bags 
of lunch, shells and prizes. The whole party with Mother, 
Mrs. Taylor, Miss Weed, Mr. Williamson and Mallory 
and Jane moved to the gang plank. Hardly had the visitors 
got on board when the men began to unloosen ropes 
and pull up the gang-plank. They all disappeared into the 
crowd. 

But no sight of Minnie on board. As the steamer moved 
out, the little Parillo girl hung over the edge of the rail. 
“I looked everywhere!” she shouted through cupped hands 
to Mallory below upon the pier. “I—don’t see her! I— 
don’t—think—she’s here!” 

Mallory fluttered her handkerchief. She got the words 
but could not answer. Soon the steamer Serius with its 
trail of smoke and its white wake was far off down the 
Sound going to New York City. 

The picnic party turned back to the grove. Mr. Wil¬ 
liamson went everywhere hunting, questioning. No 
Minerva Ida Adams at all. Nor had anybody noticed her. 

Mother and Mrs. Taylor looked serious. Mallory and 
Jane, numbed and frightened, half-crying in little dry sobs, 
ran wildly to the rocks again. Nobody had seen a doll. 
Minerva Ida Adams had disappeared! 


142 


THE PANT ALETTE DOLL 


There was absolutely nothing but to get into the car 
and go home. Mr. Williamson said he had telephoned to 
the newspaper from a telephone booth. Somebody would 
see the advertisement he had sent and perhaps bring back 
the doll. 

Where was Minerva Ida Adams, the dear precious doll 
that Mallory had found in the attic at the big white house? 
Where was the doll that Jane and Mallory so loved? 




FATHER’S TREAT 

Alas for Minerva Ida Adams! Alas, alas for little 
Mallory! As the days followed the eventful picnic party 
at Roton Point Pleasure Park, no word came except a 
picture postal card of very vivid coloring. It came from 
Sadie Parillo to Mallory and was written in careful child' 
handwriting: 

Dear Friend I hope you found your doll. I and 
Angelo went all over the boat that trip bac\. 
There were nothing but Kewpie dolls that we 
saw li\e those in the booths. Angelo and I as\ed 
lots of children if they had seen any old doll but 
nobody had. 

The writing grew smaller as the card was filled. It trailed 
off even into the careful margin with: 

Tou were good to us. We had a grand time. We 
are well hoping you are the same. With love , 
Sadie Parillo. 


143 


144 


THE PAHT ALETTE DOLL 


Later came a postal from Angelo: 

Dear Friend I write to say I did my level best to 
find that doll. We boys are sorry we couldn’t 
get it for you. Hope you got it bac\. It’s hot 
here. Wish I was at Roton. Angelo. 

“Well, then,” declared Mother, “Minnie Ida was prob- 
ably taken by somebody else. Fm sorry, dear! Father 
will buy you a new doll, a very fine big new doll.” 

But Mallory did not want a new doll. She wanted 
Minerva Ida Adams. Who was there to play with in the 
attic now? Mallory did not want to play in the attic by 
the window that looked out over the lawn. It seemed as 
empty as the old robins 1 nest, long ago deserted. 

Father bought Mallory a puppy—brown and curly, 
round and fat. He had a little funny bark; he was only 
six weeks old and had to be taken care of carefully and 
covered up at night. He followed Mallory everywhere 
and even insisted on getting up on the quilt of the four- 
poster where Mallory slept. 

But he was not her beloved doll and Mallory wanted 
Minnie Ida. She wanted her back quite as much as 
anybody could long for a friend who had gone away. 
She wanted Minnie though she had stopped crying and 
the loss was only a dull ache. And Jane wanted her too. 
Baby Edith had had to go to the Doll Hospital to be re¬ 
strung. There was no more playing house upon the rocks 
or in the summer houses. 


FATHER'S TREAT 


145 



Tylo the pup 


Only two people telephoned about the doll, in answer 
to the newspaper advertisement. Both were ladies who 
wanted to know if Mallory had yet found her. Though 
Father even put an advertisement in a city paper, nothing 
came of it. Two weeks went by; three weeks passed; a 
fourth week. Miss Weed came over with Cornelia and 
offered to give her to Mallory. 

It was lovely of Miss Weed. But the tears started to 
Mallory’s eyes and she sobbed out that there wasn’t any 
doll she wanted but—Minnie. 

Miss Weed hid Cornelia tactfully and took her home. 
Then Mallory was taken away by Mother and Father 
upon an automobile trip that was quite long and diverting. 
Mallory would look woebegone at times even though she 
had Jane with her and Tylo the dog had been allowed the 
privilege of going on the trip also. 

Tylo was growing fast. He was getting more and more 
devoted to Mallory. Mallory was getting more and more 
devoted to him. But the loss of Minerva Ida Adams had 
made her always fearful of losing him too. She could not 
bear to let him out of her sight. 


146 


THE PAHT ALETTE DOLL 


The automobile trip was fun; they stopped at new 
places all the time. There were brooks, hills, mountains, 
rivers; always new towns and new people at hotels. And 
the party went as far as the Tip-Top House on Mt. Wash¬ 
ington. Mallory many times thought of dear lost Minnie 
and wondered what had become of her. She knew now 
that she had gone probably never to come back. How 
could she ever be found after all this time? 

‘Til tell you what," Father suggested, trying to chase 
away a certain expression in Mallory’s face that he and 
Mother knew how to read by now. “When we get back 
to the big white house on the hill-” 

“What?” exclaimed Jane. 

“Oh, Father,” said Mallory. 

“You wait!” 

“What is it?” coaxed Jane. 

“Oh, something very fine is going to happen. But 
Tylo won’t like it.” 

“What, Father?” 

“Well,” said Father, “it’s the nicest ever. I just thought 
of it!” 

“Well, what?” 

“It’s a—secret!” 

Tylo barked excitedly. “There,” Jane cried. “He wants 
to know what he won’t like.” 

“Oh, maybe he’ll not mind so much. We’ll give him a 


FATHER'S TREAT 


147 

bone. But you, Jane, you and I—Mallory needn't unless 
she wants to -” 

"What? What, Father?" Mallory was interested. 
“Oh, you know I want to, if Jane and you are going to 
do something.” 

“Father’s joking,” put in Mother. The car was passing 
by a little district school upon a country road. Its session 
had already begun because it was after the first of Sep- 
tember. “He’s just joking,” she said. “I don’t believe 
it’s anything much. Maybe he means that you and Jane 
will soon be going to school. First of October’ll soon be 
here!” 

Jane and Mallory had been trying to forget that. Father 
was always joking. But they were to go daily to the same 
private school in town. George was to take them. It 
really was a very lovely school where there’d be lots of 
girls to know—new friends. 

Yet Father insisted. “I’m not talking about school at 
all!” he declared as if hurt. “I’m going to take Jane, and 
Mallory—if she wants to go. We are going to go by train 
to New York. We are going to the finest toy shop that 
there is on Fifth Avenue! I’m going to buy Jane the 
nicest doll that there is in that shop! And if Mallory will 
condescend to come with us and leave Tylo to his bones, 
Mallory shall choose anything she wants in that shop if 
it doesn’t cost one hundred dollars! Now what do you 
say to that?” 


148 


THE P AMT ALETTE DOLL 


“How good you are,” said Mother. “How about me? 
Can't I go along and buy a new suit? I shall need a fall 
suit. One hundred dollars will answer nicely for me too!” 

But Father shook his head. “We aren't going to do 
shopping,” he smiled. “We're going on a regular toy pic- 
nic. And perhaps we'll take in the Aquarium, Bronx 
Park, the Natural History Museum, and a play, to say 
nothing of a Fifth Avenue bus ride and the Metropolitan 
Museum if we have time. We're going to look for a doll 
for Jane—and Mallory! If Mallory doesn't want one, she 
can go along and help Jane buy twor 

“Oh, oh!” Jane exclaimed. “But Mallory's got to have 
one. We'll get twins. Oh, say we get twins, Mallory!” 

Mallory warmed to the idea and laughed and said: 
“Maybe baby dolls with cunning little feet that we could 
put socks on.” 

Then Mother took it up. “You'll learn to knit baby 
socks, and baby jackets! That'll be nice; and I dare say 
you can make a sweater too. You can knit me one for 
Christmas!” 

And so the baby dolls began to be talked about a good 
deal, and whether or not they should have light hair, curly, 
or dark straight hair. 

“Tylo will be jealous,” said Jane. “But you can give 
him bones and he'll be contented. When you come back, 
you can bring him a new collar and a ball.” 


FATHER'S TREAT 


149 


“And he loves to play with balloons,” Mallory sug- 
gested. 

“But I haven’t told you all!” Father said. “We are 
going to see if Sadie Parillo and Angelo can’t go with us. 
Would you like that?” 

“Oh! Oh! Father!” 

“Oh, how perfectly splendid!” 

“How about all the others?” asked Mother. 

“Well, we’ll arrange it somehow, some afternoon. We 
won’t take them everywhere with us,” Father explained, 
“but perhaps we can take them to some one place and 
give them a good time!” 

“The forty!” ejaculated Mother. “Oh, not all the 
forty.” 

“Yes, Mrs. Deming,” returned Father. “The whole 
forty! I shall do it!” 

Mother sighed. “Well, it’s your party,” she laughed. 

So Father’s treat grew to be the Big Thing to plan for 
every day. Mallory learned to knit as soon as she reached 
home and Jane did too, so that the twin babies might be 
at once provided with afghans for doll carriages. Mal¬ 
lory’s was pink and Jane’s blue. 

But as fate would have it Father had to go away imme¬ 
diately upon a most important business trip as soon as he 
got back to the big white house. He said he would give 
the Big Treat as soon as he came home. It was to be the 
week just before school opened. 


150 


THE P AMT ALETTE DOLL 


It seemed as if Father never would come back, but in 
the meantime there was fun with Jane and Tylo, play and 
knitting in the summer house under the cedars. When 
finally he did come back Tylo was so excited that he 
barked and barked. Nobody could stop him till Jane 
found him a bone. 

The next day Father and Jane and Mallory, all in their 
traveling best, started upon an early train to the city after 
Mother had made Father promise not to let the two have 
rich things to eat—and to be careful not to let them get 
too excited or tired. 

The fact is, the two were not going to be tired; they 
were already pretty excited. Mallory had hugged Tylo 
and made George promise faithfully to see he didn’t run 
away. She didn’t want to lose him as she had Minerva 
Ida Adams. This time when she spoke of Minnie, she 
did not cry. Minerva Ida Adams was now a memory, a 
very dear and happy memory of something loved and 
cherished. 

Then they boarded the train and went rushing toward 
the big city where Mallory had once lived. This time the 
train understood too for it had a voice again and as it 
traveled along Mallory said: 

“Jane, what do you think the train says?” 

Jane shook her head, her ear tuned to the echo of the 
train on its track. “I don’t know. What?” she asked. 


FATHER’S TREAT 


151 


“It says," Mallory explained, “well, you listen. It says, 
‘Going to have a picnic. Going to have a picnic. Going 
to have a picnic.’ ” 

When they went to the hotel in a taxi and left their 
bags, Father suggested the toy shop. There ought to be 
the twin babies at once, he said. Down Fifth Avenue they 
glided, past the Public Library that Jane had never before 
seen; past the wonderful shops; seeing the big beetle-like 
busses with top decks where people sat; stopping when the 
traffic officer raised his impressive gloved hand. Jane had 
never been to New York before—it was twice as much 
fun for Mallory for she had to show Jane everything. Then 
they came to the wonderful toy shop! 

Oh, such dolls. Such bewitching ones. Dolls in red, 
blue, pink and yellow. And the baby dolls! Enthusiasti¬ 
cally Jane and Mallory ran from this one to that. Father 
just stood by watching or saying he thought blue eyes 
were fine and yellow curls were beautiful! 

The clerks grew very interested when they showed the 
dolls. They let the two little girls see everything. But 
Mallory could not quite decide. 

“You know, Father dear,” she explained in a whisper, 
“I keep remembering Minnie Ida. They’re very unlike 
her. They aren’t so real, so really alive!" 

“You see," Father explained to the clerk, “my little 
daughter once had a dear old-fashioned doll that seemed 
truly alive to her. It was a loss; we want to find some- 


152 


THE PANT ALETTE DOLL 


thing very special—I wonder if you haven’t some really 
true babies!” And he smiled. 

The clerk thought a second then said, "Oh—I think I 
know what you mean. I’ll show you something different.” 

She went away and came back. In her arms she held 
two real baby dolls. They did open and shut their eyes; 
they did cry. Those dolls went right into Mallory’s out' 
stretched arms; and into Jane’s too. One had pink ribbons 
and the other blue. 

"Jane,” whispered Mallory when the clerk had taken 
Father’s bill. "Let’s do something.” 

"What?” 

"Let’s-” 

"What?” 

"Let’s call mine 'Minnie’ and yours 'Ida.’ ” 

"Let’s,” returned Jane. And thus the twins were chris' 
tened. 

"No, thank you,” said Father to the clerk. "We’ll not 
have them wrapped. We’ll take them right along. They 
are real, you see. You couldn’t wrap a real baby up in 
paper, could you?” 

The clerk laughed and said, "Surely not.” Then the 
five—for there were the twins now—climbed into the taxi 
and went back to the hotel for dinner. It was a good din' 
ner too—and Jane liked the music. The babies had to 
stay upstairs on Jane’s and Mallory’s bed. They went to 
sleep. 



FATHER'S TREAT 


153 



She had two baby dolls that were so real 


“And where are we going this afternoon?” Mallory 
asked. 

Father considered. “We'll go to the Park,” he said. 

“Oh, but how about all the other places you said?” 

“There's something I want to show you in the Park,” 
said Father. He didn't say what. Jane and Mallory were 
ready for any frolic. 

Once in the Park they stopped the taxi and got out 
where Father wanted. Who should be waiting but Sadie 
and Angelo Parillo, the Glucksteins, Isaac, Aron, Carrie 
Palinski, and Mamie Fifer. 

Gertrude, Helen, and Minna Sniffin came racing: “My, 
but it's nice to see you again,” they said. All the others 
echoed it. Mr. Williamson was there too. He and Father 
had kept a real secret and Mr. Williamson had come down 
and gathered the children together and brought them to 



154 


THE PAHTALETTE DOLL 


the Park. They had bags of peanuts. Sadie offered hers 
to Jane and Mallory. 

“How about the Natural History Museum?” Father 
suggested. The children agreed. They took a path that 
ran along the Avenue, hoping to strike the cross path near 
the old reservoir. Jane had to see the obelisk anyway. 

Oh, how much there was to say! And how Mallory 
laughed! When Sadie asked if the doll was ever found, 
Jane told about the twins, Minnie and Ida. 

“But I shall always love dear Minerva Ida Adams,” 
declared Mallory. “I have a new puppy too, Tylo. But 
I love Minerva Ida Adams. I always shall.” 

They changed the subject. Sadie felt that Mallory, 
even though the hurt was over, still felt a loss. And a lost 
doll to a little girl who loves her is a lost friend. So they 
chatted of many things while Father kept up a conversa- 
tion with Aron and the boys. Mr. Williamson also added 
his bit to the general fun by way of jokes and more 
peanuts. 

But when the party reached the obelisk, they found 
themselves right at the Museum, which Jane had never 
seen. 

It was a free day. The party drifted in, awed by the 
beautiful hall that greeted them. Through the Egyptian 
Rooms they drifted wondering. Through the great Hall 
of Armor where the boys stood wide-eyed while Mr. Wih 




























156 


THE PAHTALETTE DOLL 


liamson and Father told about the Days of Chivalry and 
the big tournaments. On, on they went, up the stairs to 
see the pictures, stopping to call to each other in hushed 
voices when something especially appealed. But, mostly, 
the children were hushed and wonderingly silent, Mallory 
and Jane too. Oh, think of the many wonderful things all 
gathered here—the priceless treasures gathered from the 
Long Ago for the children of Today. 

“I want to go all through, since we're here, Father," 
Mallory urged. “Come. Here's another room. It isn't 
pictures." And she led the way. 

Strange old furniture greeted her; old-fashioned chests 
of drawers; a grandfather clock much like the one at home 
upon the staircase landing. There were cases filled with 
old-fashioned pressed glass, china, sperm oil lamps also like 
those at home that Mother treasured and thought so won¬ 
derful. 

But what was that? An old doll? Why—like Minnie 
Ida! Mallory rushed to the glass case. It stood alone. 
Why—it was Minerva Ida Adams! Mallory gasped and 
reached out her arms toward Minnie. But the glass case 
kept the doll out of reach. Her dark eyes smiled up to 
Mallory's as if to say: 

“See, dear, I am happy! I am here where I belong, with 
all that is now a memory. But how glad I am to see you 
again! How I love you!" 


FATHER'S TREAT 


157 

“Oh, let me have her. Let me have her !' 1 Mallory cried. 
But the glass case held her. 

The attendant came. The forty boys and girls came. 
Mr. Williamson came. They all stared open-mouthed 
while Mallory insisted that it was her doll, Minerva Ida 
Adams , who had once belonged to Great-grandmother. 

Father took one look and went to find the curator. 
Mallory excitedly told everybody again that it was her 
doll, the doll she had found in the attic at the big white 
house. The attendant said he could not open the glass 
case and take her out. She belonged to the museum. 
Isaac almost fought him. Angelo threatened to smash the 
glass and get her, but Mr. Williamson kept tight hold of 
both and the other boys said, “Mr. Deming will get her 
out. The curator's coming and he will give her back!" 

It seemed hours before Father finally came with the 
curator. Much to their astonishment he had the case 
unlocked. Minnie Ida was again in Mallory's arms, 
though she was in petticoats and her sprigged muslin of 
modern date and picnic origin had been removed. 

While the children stood about, Father told a wonder¬ 
ful story. Mallory and Jane listened in wonder. Father 
had been telephoning to various people and the curator 
had helped. It seemed Minnie Ida had been lent to the 
Museum by a lady; Father had spoken by telephone with 
her. She knew all about very old American things and 


158 


THE P AMT ALETTE DOLL 


treasured them. This lady was a settlement worker. In 
August she had found a strange little Italian baby in a 
tenement playing with Minnie Ida. When she remarked 
on the old doll, the mother had said: 

“Oh, she wants one of those Kewpie dolls. She is 
always talking about the Kewpie dolls we saw the day 
when we went on the excursion. She was fretful that 
day. Somewhere she picked up that old rag of a doll; 
somebody must have thrown it away. She carried it on 
the steamer home. Went right to sleep with it in her arms. 
And I had a good rest. I just put my coat over the two, 
doll and all/** 

So that was why nobody had seen Minerva Ida Adams 
upon The Serins on its return to New York. That was 
why Sadie Parillo and Angelo had not seen her. They 
probably failed even to see the Italian woman who was 
in a cabin. 

The lady, realising the value of the old doll, had given 
the baby a Kewpie doll and taken Minerva Ida Adams 
and given her to the Museum where she said she thought 
she belonged. She said she felt the doll was needed there; 
the Children of Today might then see and know the Past 
and its treasured storehouse of memories through her. 

Mallory swallowed a strange lump in her throat. She 
looked down into the brown depths of Minnie Ida's dark 
eyes. She hesitated. 


FATHER’S TREAT 


159 


“What is it, dear?” questioned Father. 

“Oh, Father,” answered Mallory. “Oh, Father!—I— 
I think she belongs here. I think she wants to stay here 
with all the lovely old things! I think she loves me still 
but—but she wants to stay, just as the lady said. And if 
she were to stay, I could come to see her and the Children 
of Today would come to see her. Father, I could send 
her dresses, and the trunk, and the dinner-set, and Great¬ 
grandmother’s coral silk—and—and they would be here 
always with all that is so beautiful! She wants to stay, 
Father. I want her to stay!" 

The curator said, “Oh, that would be wonderful.” 

The boys and Sadie Parillo, the Glucksteins, Mamie 
Fifer, Gertrude Sniffin were amazed. “What! Not take 
her when you’ve found her?” 

But Mallory was quite certain. Minerva Ida Adams 
was happy in this wonderful home full of beautiful trea¬ 
sures. She was a treasure herself. She belonged to the 
world, as the paintings and the art treasures belonged to 
the world—she might still lovingly be cherished by one 
little girl, indeed by more than that one little girl. 

But now Minerva Ida Adams was something bigger 
and more wonderful than just one little girl’s doll. 
Minerva Ida Adams was a living person from The Past, 
a treasure worthy of a great Museum! 

But Isaac understood. And the others did too. “My, 


160 


THE P AMT ALETTE DOLL 


isn't it great to do that!” they murmured, approvingly. 
"We will come up here and see her again—and when our 
school teacher brings us up here, we will tell her all about 
it then! About our knowing you—and how we went to 
that lovely picnic—and about her getting lost—and you 
finding her here!" 

Mallory hugged her tight. Then—she gave Minerva 
Ida Adams back to the Museum, putting her back into the 
open case herself with a final loving touch. Father said 
she would bring down the other things later. 

Hushed, the children filed along with Mr. Williamson 
without saying a word. They had come close to a great 
sacrifice and a great gift. 

"I'm happy, Jane," whispered Mallory, tears in her 
eyes. "She's happy too." 

"Yes," Jane answered, "she belongs here." 

They trooped out into the sunlight of Today. Some' 
thing very very wonderful had happened. Minerva Ida 
Adams was to live in this wonderful place and Mallory 
had given her to the World. 








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